Davidson frames his journey as a testament to the power of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), showing that healing is possible even after years of struggling with black-and-white thinking.
Insiders note the irony of Davidson removing the very ink that hid his pain, signaling a new era where he is no longer interested in hiding his past scars or his mental health struggles behind body art.
In a Sept 30 Variety profile, Davidson stated, 'I used to cut... Some of [my tattoos] covered up the cuts.' He previously told Jon Bernthal's 'Real Ones' podcast in 2024 that he used to bang his head against walls until he passed out.
Pete Davidson is literally erasing the evidence of his past pain, proving that true healing often requires stripping away the layers we built to survive.
Pete Davidson is pulling back the curtain on his most personal secrets, revealing that many of his famous tattoos served a dual purpose: art and armor. In a candid new profile with Variety published on Wednesday, September 30, the 32-year-old comedian admitted that he used his body ink to conceal the physical marks of his past self-harm struggles. "I used to cut," Davidson confessed to the outlet.
"Some of [my tattoos] covered up the cuts." This admission sheds new light on the thousands of pieces of ink that have defined his public image for over a decade, suggesting that what fans saw as rebellious style was often a quiet coping mechanism for deep-seated pain. The revelation comes as Davidson embarks on a physical and emotional cleanup, having started laser tattoo removal on a significant number of his designs.
However, in a twist that only Pete could pull off, he has decided to keep one specific piece: the Hillary Clinton portrait on his neck. While the removal of the other tattoos signifies a move toward transparency and shedding the past, the retention of the Clinton ink suggests he is not ready to let go of every chapter, or perhaps he just can't bear to part with the political satire that helped launch his SNL career.
The selective removal process highlights a complex relationship with his own history, where some scars are healed over, and others are deliberately preserved. Davidsonβs struggle with mental health is not new, but his recent comments on Jon Bernthalβs "Real Ones" podcast in 2024 provided a raw look at the intensity of his battles. He revealed that his self-harm habits extended beyond cutting, admitting he would "bang my head against walls" when overwhelmed.
"If I couldnβt do something, if someone told me something said... [that] I couldnβt deal with, I would bang my head against the wall, hoping I would pass out because I just didnβt want to be in that situation because I couldnβt handle that," Davidson explained. These details paint a picture of a young man grappling with emotional regulation in very visceral ways, long before he became a household name.
According to the comedian, the urge to self-harm has subsided "less and less and less" thanks to consistent therapy and the tools provided by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). He specifically recommends the DBT Workbook, which teaches skills like taking cold showers, listening to favorite songs, or calling a friend to ride out the initial wave of distress, which he notes usually passes within 15 to 20 minutes. Despite this progress, Davidson admits he still battles "black-and-white thinking," where a minor setback can feel like "the whole ship sinks." His journey from hiding scars under ink to removing them while acknowledging his ongoing challenges offers a nuanced look at mental health recovery, proving that healing is not a linear destination but a continuous practice of owning one's "s***" and learning to pause before spiraling.
