Pete Davidson is setting the record straight about his famous dating history, reflecting on his past relationships with Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian, his intense public fallout with Kanye West, and the intense media spotlight that followed his 20s.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with Variety, the 32-year-old Saturday Night Live alum addressed Hollywood’s fascination with his romantic life with characteristic candor.
“What the **** do I have to do? And look, I get it — I’ve dated a lot of people. But so has everyone else! Everyone is ******* everyone in this business! Everyone! And for some reason it’s zeroed in on me, and I can’t feel sorry for myself because I put myself in those situations, but everyone else is doing it,” Davidson said. “I was in my 20s. Am I not supposed to **** around and do drugs and have fun and be in Hollywood like everybody else? Sorry, everyone!”
Reflecting on his relationship with Kim Kardashian and his brief entry into the Kardashian-Jenner ecosystem, Davidson likened surviving the relentless media circus to elite military service.
“I’m one of the survivors — the few and the proud. We’re like the Marines,” he joked.
Despite the intense scrutiny, Davidson expressed admiration for how the family operates their empire: “Look, man, that’s a really tough atmosphere if you’re not game. One of the things I love about Kim and that whole family is they’re like, ‘This is what we do.’ I found that very attractive and mature….And I was never subjected to anything I didn’t want to be a part of. She was super respectful of all of it, but the craze of that lifestyle — being followed everywhere, having security and looking over your shoulder — for a guy with mental stuff, and at the time drug problems, was a little too much for me.”
When asked where he and Kardashian stand today, he added: “…we’re cool, and I have a lot of love for her, and I knew what I was getting into.”
The high-profile relationship also thrust Davidson into an escalating public feud with Kardashian’s ex-husband, Kanye West. Recalling how West targeted him online, Davidson admitted the ordeal took a heavy toll on his mental health.
“What tripped me out is I was super open about mental stuff — everyone knows this about me — and it’s like he was [saying], ‘Kill yourself.’ And he did push me.”
Weighing in on West’s subsequent controversial and anti-Semitic public statements, Davidson offered a complex perspective rooted in their shared struggles with fame, loss, and mental illness.
“What people don’t understand about that dude — and I’m not one- one-millionth as talented or influential or powerful as that dude, but I have dealt with a fraction of what he’s had to deal with public-wise — is that’ll do it,” Davidson observed. “He’s also lost a parent and has mental stuff, and I don’t know how he deals with it or who he has around him. Probably a lot of people who want to be his friend. I’ve had that. When people are so far up your ass and constantly pushing and provoking you and not showing you love, you want to burn it all. I think it got to a certain point where he was like, ‘Leave me the **** alone. I’m just going to say crazy ****.’ There’s zero way he really feels like that.”
Turning his attention to pop superstar Ariana Grande—to whom he was briefly engaged in 2018—Davidson clarified that while they aren’t in daily contact, their bond remains respectful.
“I think Ariana’s ******’ cool and immensely talented and an awesome girl. We’re not texting or whatever, but we’re cool,” he confirmed.
He also defended Grande against recent online scrutiny and media commentary: “I don’t like it at all. It’s not cool. She’s a really strong person — I’ve witnessed it — and I don’t understand it. She knows how to handle this stuff though. She’s been around. So she’ll be OK, but I think it’s ****** up.”
