Covering up one tattoo at a time apparently isn’t working for Pete Davidson anymore. The Saturday Night Live comedian says he’s currently in the process of removing every one of his 100 tattoos.
Davidson is one of the most heavily tattooed celebrities around. He doesn’t go off the rails with one giant phoenix on his back like some actors, but instead tends to get one-off tributes to influential figures, like Hillary Clinton, RBG, and Harry Potter. In a 2019 interview with Inked, he said getting tatted is “just a release … When [I’m] so manic and upset, sometimes that’s the only thing that will work for me.”
However, now that his Hollywood career seems to be heating up on the back of films like The King of Staten Island and the upcoming The Suicide Squad, all that ink is slowing him down. During a virtual Q&A for the former Judd Apatow production, Davidson reportedly said he was “in the process of getting all his tattoos removed” because of how long it takes to cover them up for shoots.
The scoop came from film critic Mike McGranaghan, who attended the online event. “He even showed his hand, which is already done,” McGranaghan responded to a fan asking if Davidson was serious. “He said it takes 3-4 hours in the makeup chair to cover them, so he figured ‘it would be easier to get them burned off.’”
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Page Six confirmed Davidson’s comments with the Q&A’s moderator.
It’s true that many of Davidson’s film roles, such as his Staten Island and Big Time Adolescence characters, actually call for tattoos. But sometimes a portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg or an alien from Mars Attacks! doesn’t exactly fit the part.
Still, it might be hard to believe the 27-year-old would get rid of all that ink, as surely some of the work holds special significance. It’ll be interesting to see which if any tattoos Davidson decides to keep and which ones he scrubs. Though we have a feeling his body won’t say “Cursed” anymore.
Just attended a virtual Q&A with the Judd Apatow and the cast of THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND. And here’s a scoop: Pete Davidson is in the process of getting all his tattoos removed! pic.twitter.com/LMejpRdn6x
— Mike McGranaghan (@AisleSeat) December 7, 2020
No, it’s real. He even showed his hand, which is already done. He said it takes 3-4 hours in the makeup chair to cover them, so he figured “it would be easier to get them burned off.”
— Mike McGranaghan (@AisleSeat) December 7, 2020