In his candid remarks, Pete Davidson discusses the emotional, expensive, and excruciating process of removing his more than 200 tattoos, claiming that it is strongly tied to his past struggles with addiction and self-worth.
In 2020, the comedian and actress began the treatment for pragmatic reasons: covering the ink with makeup on set took too long. But in a recent interview with Variety, Davidson disclosed that the decision has more profound origins.
He said it was just because he wasn’t looking after himself. “I used to be a drug addict and sad. I thought I should be concealed because I felt ugly.
Davidson explained that the ink brought back memories of a worse time in his life, but he is not anti-tattoo. “When I looked at them, I saw someone who was incredibly unsure. I’m taking them off and starting over since that’s what my brain and I respond to the best.
Now that he is clean, Davidson says he doesn’t want physical reminders of that chapter to be there on his body. “I don’t want to look in the mirror and see, ‘Oh yeah, you were a f**king drug addict.'” As a result, SpongeBob is smoking a joint on your back. More than just the fact that I was high after watching Game of Thrones should be communicated by tattoos.
Physically removing the tattoos is just as challenging as symbolic removal. Ten to twelve sessions are needed for most tattoos, and the healing process takes six weeks between sessions. “That’s sixty weeks of your life just for one,” he said. It’s like putting your arm on a grill and taking a layer off. Then you have to take care of it and let it heal. It’s quite terrible. It’s terrible, I won’t lie.
It has an equally high financial cost. Even though Davidson initially didn’t want to disclose the amount, he joked that it had already been leaked by a tabloid. “I’ve already spent nearly $200,000, and I’m only about 30% done. It will be terrible, he said. “But now that I’ve called out my tattoo remover by name, he’s definitely a little nicer.”
Throughout the entire process, Davidson is committed to altering himself as well as getting rid of the tattoos. He understands why he is doing it, despite the mental and bodily pain: to go on.
