Celebs Who've Had Beef With Pete Davidson

The following article includes mentions of mental health issues and sexual misconduct.

Actor-comedian Pete Davidson has gained popularity over the last few years mainly due to his star power on the long-running sketch-comedy show "Saturday Night Live." Along with starring in Judd Apatow's "The King of Staten Island," he's appeared in the blockbuster "The Suicide Squad" and the murder-mystery thriller "Bodies Bodies Bodies." So, it's safe to say Davidson has already created a strong foundation for the trajectory of his career, following the footsteps of other "SNL" alum who have gone from comedians to respected actors, as noted by Collider in August 2022.

Davidson has also made waves in the celebrity sphere, namely with his high-profile girlfriends, such as Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale, Kaia Gerber — the list truly goes on, per Us Weekly. Because of this dating history, paired with his sense of humor, this seemingly affable star has garnered a reputation for being an exceedingly charismatic ladies' man, and according to BuzzFeed, the general public loves him. 

But what happens when viewers feel Davidson takes his jokes a bit too far on his Netflix specials? Or when he ends up dating the ex-wife of a hot-tempered A-list rapper? Here we will discover the truth about Pete Davidson's past conflicts with exes, comedians, and the like.

In February 2020, Pete Davidson himself claimed that behind the scenes of "Saturday Night Live" is a cut-throat environment, saying in an interview with Charlamagne tha God, "Everyone wants to be the next thing ... so it's not a loving, car[ing] — you're not gonna get coddled over there." Shortly afterward, sources cited by Page Six alleged that the stand-up comedian's castmates were upset that he was getting prioritized by creator Lorne Michaels with not only more on-screen work, but even days off to shoot other projects or for personal reasons. Months earlier, "Weekend Update" anchor Colin Jost gently ribbed an absent Davidson for taking time away the show to film "The Suicide Squad." It seems Davidson didn't take too kindly to it.

"Pete has a pretty cushy gig, to say the least," an insider alleged, calling this PTO "unheard of" in the land of "SNL," with another adding, "The cast isn't into him. He's just there — he doesn't add much [in the writers' room]." Ouch. For his part, Davidson had recently expressed an interest in leaving the show, arguing to Charlamagne tha God that his co-stars used him as punchlines when he wasn't there. "And you're like, 'Whose side are you on?'" he said, adding, "I have a weird feeling in that building where I don't know whose team they're playing for, really — if I'm the joke or I'm in on the joke."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Davidson announced he was leaving the show after eight years in May 2022, per Marie Claire.

Rapper Kanye West first retaliated against Pete Davidson in January 2022 with the song "Eazy," in which he proclaimed (via Genius), "God saved me from that crash / Just so I can beat Pete Davidson's a** (Who?)." The tune arrived only a few months after his now ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, kissed Davidson in a "Saturday Night Live" sketch. The two started dating in November 2021, and West admittedly felt disrespected, as he explained on "Hollywood Unlocked," since he aimed to bring his family back together amid the divorce.

West continued to air out his grievances in a series of now-deleted Instagram posts in February 2022 (via Complex). Among other things, he shared personal texts with Davidson, posted memes about the comedian, nicknamed him "Skete," and brought up a 2018 "Weekend Update” segment, where Davidson called him out for no longer taking medication to treat his bipolar disorder, a mental illness they both share. When West told his fans to harass the "SNL" star, Kardashian intervened via text, leading him to clarify in all caps that he didn't mean physical violence.

Additional leaked texts showed that Davidson, who's since deleted his Instagram, finally fought back after West depicted the comic's death in the "Eazy" music video that March. Per Page Six, West alleged that Davidson refused to call a truce, claiming, "The boyfriend texts me, antagonizing me, bragging about being in bed with my wife." When Davidson and Kardashian split that August, West seemingly had the last word, posting a since-deleted meme that read, "Skete Davidson Dead at 28" (via Forbes). Yikes.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

One of the most famous "Saturday Night Live" alumni, Chevy Chase has a history of insulting "SNL" cast members, most notably in a 2018 interview with The Washington Post, where he made his feelings about creator Lorne Michaels very clear. "I'm amazed that Lorne has gone so low," Chase said. "I had to watch a little of it, and I just couldn't f**king believe it. ... That means a whole generation of s**theads laughs at the worst f**king humor in the world." Um, ouch?

For his part, Pete Davidson did not hold back after hearing Chase's charged words, and on Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show, he explained his disdain for the comedian. "F**k Chevy Chase. I hate that dude," Davidson said (via Deadline). "He's just a genuinely bad, racist person, and I don't like him." He also questioned why Chase was so adamant about insulting Michaels when Michaels helped him propel his career from the beginning, arguing that Chase should have more respect for Michaels as a result.

Chase responded on "CBS Sunday Morning" years later by saying he did not care what Davidson — or anyone else — thought of him. "I am who I am," Chase said. "And I like where — who I am. I don't care. And it's part of me that I don't care. And I've thought about that a lot. And I don't know what to tell you, man. I just don't care."

Kaia Gerber, the model daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, was only 18 when she got into a relationship with then-26-year-old Pete Davidson in October 2019. In a 2021 interview with Vogue, she didn't go into specifics about this short-lived romance but opened up on how her experience in a grown-up industry as a teen skewed her youthful perspective. "You know, I was doing fashion month, but I was so young I had kissed, like, only one person. I had never had a high school sweetheart or anything," Gerber said. "And so I tended to date older people because those were the people I was around. And I got put in situations where one day I'd wake up and be like, How did I get here?"

While Gerber seemingly hinted at discomfort with the former couple's eight-year age gap, the Daily Mail reported in December 2019 that Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, were spotted having a heavy discussion concerning Davidson's age and mental state. According to sources cited by Page Six, "I think they're just hoping this could all fizzle out." 

Davidson, who went to rehab following the split, later told Charlamagne tha God that the age difference did play a role in their January 2020 breakup, but also admitted, "I'm f**king going through a lot." Praising his ex and her parents for their support, the comic added, "If anyone was worried that I was too smart or advanced for her, they do not have to worry at all. She was way, way smarter than I was."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Pete Davidson claimed that disgraced comedian Louis C.K. tried to get the younger comic fired from "Saturday Night Live" back in 2015, because the "Louie" alum thought he smoked too much weed. In his 2020 Netflix special "Alive from New York," Davidson alleged C.K. had complained to Lorne Michaels and the show's producers about it, supposedly saying (via Us Weekly), "All this kid does is smoke weed and he's gonna smoke his career away."

It was C.K.'s third time hosting the show, and only Davidson's first season as a cast member, so when Michaels ended up calling Davidson into his office, he didn't exactly feel hopeful about the outcome due to seniority. "I was trying to hype myself. ... I was just, like, 'F**k them, they're the ones who looked stupid anyway,'" Davidson said in the bit (via ScreenRant), adding, "'They hired and fired you. They're wrong twice.'" While the younger star felt C.K. may have had an ulterior motive that didn't sit right with him, Michaels ultimately brushed off the complaints and told Davidson not to worry about him, which left him with relief. 

For his part, Davidson admitted that he personally felt further vindication years later when C.K. was accused of admitted sexual misconduct amid the #MeToo movement in November 2017. "I didn't want it to happen," Davidson said. "But if it was gonna happen to anybody, I'm glad it was him."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Former U.S. Navy Seal and GOP Representative Dan Crenshaw spoke out against a joke Pete Davidson made about his eyepatch during a "Weekend Update" segment in the midst of the 2018 midterm elections. The comedian had made the following observation about Crenshaw: "This guy's kinda cool. ... You may be surprised to hear he's a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hitman in a porno movie." Davidson then added with a laugh, "I'm sorry, I know he lost his eye in war or whatever." Yikes.

Crenshaw fired back on Twitter, claiming that Davidson didn't have respect for veterans with injuries, considering he indeed obtained his eye injury during a 2012 tour in Afghanistan, per ABC News. Davidson publicly apologized when Crenshaw appeared on the sketch comedy show the following week, though it was seemingly half-hearted, considering he later revealed in his 2020 Netflix special "Alive from New York" that it wasn't his choice to apologize in the first place. "I didn't think I did anything wrong," Davidson said in the bit (via The Daily Beast). "... I made fun of this guy with an eyepatch, and then I kind of got forced to apologize because people were like, threatening to shoot me in the face."

For his part, Crenshaw appeared to revel in Davidson's snarky follow-up comments. "It's like our comedic careers are joined at the hip because he can't stop thinking about me," Crenshaw said during a "Fox & Friends" appearance, per Fox News. "It's a little sad."

During a 2020 "Honeydew" podcast appearance, "Guy Code" star Chris Distefano revealed he was good friends with another unnamed stand-up comic — later revealed to be Pete Davidson — when he was dating fellow MTV personality Carly Aquilino. While a heartbroken Distefano felt support from his pal when Aquilino broke up with him around New Year's Eve 2014, he soon learned of an alleged ugly truth.

"He was helping me get through it. Come to find out in May, he was f**king her the whole time," Distefano claimed. "While we were together, after we broke up, all that stuff. So all those nights where he was like, 'Oh, I gotta go do a spot,' he was really going to go hook up with the girl that I was just crying to him about." While Distefano ultimately brushed off the then-19-year-old comedian's alleged behavior considering his young age, he confessed to feeling at his lowest, especially since the relationship drama coincided with Davidson's big gig on "Saturday Night Live."

Luckily, this celebrity beef's all in the past. Distefano clarified on "The Fighter and the Kid" that there was no cheating involved, and Davidson reportedly apologized for breaking the so-called bro code. While they aren't as close as they once were, Distefano still considers Davidson to be a friend. Meanwhile, Davidson and Aquilino's short-lived romance didn't appear to lead to animosity either. They've been spotted together in the comedy club scene, and Aquilino even thanked Davidson on Instagram for the opportunity to appear in 2020's "The King of Staten Island."