Pete Davidson revealed that he has been wearing only sweaters for the past six months as he continues to remove almost all of his tattoos. The actor spoke about the procedure at the premiere of „How to Rob a Bank“ in New York and described it in three words: „It’s brutal“.
„You don’t know what’s happening underneath them,“ Davidson joked, referring to the different stages his skin goes through between procedures. According to him, the tattoos have almost disappeared, but he added ironically that „you never know, they might come back“.
Pete Davidson began removing the ink in 2020 and has spent around $200,000 on the years-long process. Previously, he had approximately 200 tattoos on his arms, chest and body, but now he intends to keep only two or three.
In January 2025, the actor explained to Jimmy Fallon that the procedure is more painful than getting the tattoos themselves. „They burn off a layer of skin, after which it needs six to eight weeks to heal. And then you have to do it about 12 more times,“ said Ariana Grande’s former fiancé.
At the time, he described his decision as an attempt to start “with a clean slate” and said he wanted to be more mature. Pete Davidson associates his old tattoos with a period when he was a „sad boy“ and warns people to carefully consider their decisions before getting tattooed.
A new tattoo despite the removal process
While most of his old designs are fading, in April the comedian showed off a new tattoo bearing his daughter Scottie’s name, positioned vertically near his temple. The child was born in December 2025 from his relationship with Elsie Hewitt.
The actor also began removing his tattoos because of his career. In a previous interview, he said that for some roles he would spend up to three hours in the makeup chair while the ink was covered up. His old tattoos included dedications to Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian and Cazzie David.
Davidson has not specified a particular deadline for the end of the procedure. For now, he continues treating his skin and leaves open the possibility that some of the ink may remain or even reappear.