Pete Davidson says he was 'embarrassed' by media attention over BDE: 'No one talked about any work I was doing'
"It just got to a point where I was... I got really tired of my whole career just being like my personal life," he adds.
By
Mekishana Pierre
Published on August 14, 2025 11:44AM EDT
2Comments
Pete Davidson on 'Saturday Night Live'.Credit:
Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Pete Davidson is reminding folks that not all publicity is good publicity.
During a recent appearance on
The Breakfast Club, Davidson, 31, reflected on the intense media attention that came from
his high-profile relationships during his early career years on
Saturday Night Live. The comedian debuted on
SNL season 40, just two months shy of his 21st birthday in 2014. A few years into his tenure, his relationship with
Ariana Grande led to a media frenzy that
spilled into his work on SNL.
Davidson — who remains the show's fourth-youngest cast member ever, behind
Anthony Michael Hall (17),
Eddie Murphy (19), and
Robert Downey Jr. (20) — noted that while the "show as a whole" loved how his relationship brought more viewers to the series, it was "annoying for the cast."
Pete Davidson and Taran Killam on 'Saturday Night Live'.
Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
"I brought a lot of pop culture into the show, like I made it [a] sort of tabloidy, trendy thing unintentionally," Davidson told host Charlamagne Tha God. "Also, I was embarrassed by it because... no one talked about any work I was doing. They were just like, 'Oh, that's the f--- stick.' And that hurt so much."
He recalled that
SNL crew members, friends and family noticed how "sad" and "embarrassed" he was about the attention after a while. "No one was outrightly mean by any means," Davidson said.
Davidson, who has been candid about his
substance abuse and
mental health struggles over the years, has shared that he
intentionally retreated from the public eye a bit due to frequent media frenzies over his high-profile relationships with celebs like Grande,
Kim Kardashian,
Emily Ratajkowski,
Kate Beckinsale,
Bridgerton's
Phoebe Dynevor, and Chase Sui Wonders.
Charlamagne questioned what caused Davidson's discomfort, pointing out, "You was banging a lot of hot chicks and you had a 10-inch penis."
"You know, on paper, that sounds great," Davidson acknowledged, to the laughter of the cohosts. "It's embarrassing, 'cause, you know... It's Hollywood. Everybody f---- everyone." He questioned, "Why are they focusing on me?"
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The
Pickup star — who
signed off in the season 47 finale in 2022 — shared that he believes the viral attention was mainly because he's "not Glen Powell handsome," and people were questioning how he captured the attention of his partners. "I'm just like this dude that tells dick jokes and is a drug addict."
However, Davidson noted that the "sexualization of me" was out of hand. "If that was a girl, people would be like, there would be a march for it," he reasoned. "Seriously. You're just talking about my dick all day... They don't talk about girls like that professionally. Like it was professional, it was like pointed out on the street. Like it was embarrassing."
Folks will recall that the BDE frenzy began during Davidson's relationship with Grande in 2018. In June that year, the Grammy winner responded to a fan on X who asked "how long Pete is," referring to the
Sweetener track "Pete Davidson."
In a since-deleted tweet, the pop star replied, "Like 10 inches? ...oh f---...I mean...like a lil over a minute."
Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande in 2018.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
A few days later,
The Cut published an article proclaiming the
SNL star had "Big Dick Energy," which it defined as "a quiet confidence and ease with oneself that comes from knowing you have an enormous penis and you know what to do with it. It's not cockiness, it's not a power trip — it's the opposite: a healthy, satisfied, low-key way you feel yourself."
At the time, Davidson laughed it off and even told
Variety that he didn't hate the jokes that followed. "I'm just really, really happy, and if that means I have big dick energy, then sick," he added.
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Looking back on it seven years later, the comedian recalled how the spotlight on his personal life made navigating relationships challenging.
"It just got to a point where I was... I got really tired of my whole career just being like my personal life," he said. "And living through that is it's sort of traumatic. Like not to be like lame, but it's traumatic to live in your own crap all the time."
Nowadays, David is radiating a new king of BDE, namely Big Dad energy. He and his girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, are expecting their first child, she
revealed July 16 on social media.
Elsie Hewitt and Pete Davidson.
Slaven Vlasic/Getty
The star of upcoming horror movie
The Home has dated Hewitt, at least publicly, since March. They've been spotted cheering on the New York Knicks and supporting Dave Navarro at his wedding in Scotland.
"Everybody's just been super excited for me, because they know it's been my dream," Davidson told
E! News last month. "I'm very lucky and very, very happy."
"They all just have been like, 'You're going to be great at this. It's the best thing you'll ever do in your life,'" Davidson said, noting that former
SNL star
Adam Sandler gave him "some great advice. (Sandler and his wife, Jackie, are the parents of two teenage daughters: Sadie, 19, and Sunny, 16.)
Davidson said he's delighted about "being able to take care of something and show it the childhood I didn't have. I assume you just try to give them what you didn't have, and what you didn't like, not do it."
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