Two years after his exit from Saturday Night Live, Pete Davidson is getting back in touch with himself without the distraction of the spotlight.
The comedian, who was a cast member on SNL from 2014 to 2022, explained why he’s taken a step back from the public eye in recent years after the media “chose to go after” him amid his series of high-profile relationships.
“Luckily, I got hit on the face with the Hollywood shovel,” he told W. “It was a long time coming, and I needed it. I’m very happy where I am right now, mentally.”
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Davidson added, “I just want to be known for doing good work. I want to be out there only when it’s movie, stand-up, charity, or business ventures. That’s when I want to be seen. I don’t want to be this f—ing loser who just dates people. That’s not who I am. But people hate celebrities now. The media takes a handful of celebs every couple of years, and they just destroy them. For some reason, I’m one of the people they chose to go after. It’s actually, in a way, a blessing, because it allowed me to take a step back and evaluate things. What do you want to be? Who are you? I’m someone who is from Staten Island, wanted to do stand-up, and if I got to do anything else because of stand-up, it was a miracle.”
Explaining that he “was oversaturated” before making the change, Davidson used a Tony Soprano line for comparison. “‘You ever feel like you got into something at the end? When the good times were over?’ That’s how I feel about show business and being a celebrity. It’s over,” he said earlier in the interview.
“When you’re first coming up, and getting all these offers, it’s hard to say no, because you’re hungry. I made the mistake of doing literally everything,” added Davidson. “Now I’m older and wiser, and I’m realizing that less is more. Like Christian Bale. He does one movie every two, three years, but you go f—ing see it. Leo[nardo DiCaprio] does one movie every four years, but it’s the biggest thing in the world. It’s because you miss them. People have to miss you.”
He also used Kendrick Lamar as an example: “You’re like, where is this guy? Does he even rap anymore? And then he just ruins someone’s career. And he’s doing the Super Bowl. There’s power in that.”
Davidson, who has long been open about his mental health, cancelled some stand-up shows in July as he checked into a wellness facility. He can be seen in the upcoming films The Home, Riff Raff and The Pickup.