Pete Davidson: Shady Things Everyone Just Ignores About Him

Pete Davidson was just your average cast member on Saturday Night Live until he fell in love with pop singer Ariana Grande in 2018. One of the pair's early dates went down at an SNL after-party, leading to an epic romance that lasted less than five months. But in between their first encounter and their eventual breakup, a lot went down. We're talking a lightning-speed engagement, some feuding on Twitter, and endless speculation about their high-profile romance. But arguably the most transformative thing to come out of their relationship was Davidson's rapid ascent to fame. And now that Davidson is a bonafide celebrity (at least for now) it's understandable that people are interested in his life, especially concerning his controversies throughout the years.

As it turns out, Davidson is no stranger to scandals, as he's offended the public from time to time ... though one might argue that this is the life of a comedian (it's normal to ruffle feathers in that profession, right?). But wait — we're not done yet. Here are all of shady things everyone just ignores about Pete Davidson.

There are some topics you probably shouldn't touch as a comedian — one of them being war veterans. Davidson, however, felt it was appropriate to mock former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw, who "lost his right eye when an IED exploded during a tour of Afghanistan in 2012," according to ABC News. "You may be surprised to hear he's a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hitman in a porno movie," Davidson said during his review of 2018 midterm election candidates for SNL's "Weekend Update" segment. Then he added, "I'm sorry. I know he lost his eye in war or whatever." Whoa.

Surprisingly, the joke got a big laugh, but even SNL cast member Kenan Thompson admonished Davidson for the bit, although he did slightly hedge his criticism. "I personally would never necessarily go there, but it's tough when you're fishing for jokes," Thompson later said on the Today show. The upside to this controversy? Davidson and SNL made amends when Crenshaw had a cameo on SNL the following week. Crenshaw got the opportunity to poke fun at Davidson, who apologized for hitting him below the belt. All's well that ends well, we suppose. 

One of the lesser talked about aspects about Pete Davidson's shadiness is his behavior on social media, especially where it concerns his past relationships with Larry David's daughter Cazzie David and Ariana Grande. Shortly after Davidson got with Grande, for instance, some fans couldn't help but notice something interesting about the comments he left on his new boo's Instagram account. Davidson was caught writing gushy messages to Grande that were similar to those he once wrote to David, according to Elite Daily, which is a big relationship faux pas.

For example, Davidson penned to David in October 2016, "I love you so much cazz. I'm the luckiest guy in the world and I find new things I love about you every day." Then in June 2018, Davidson wrote an eerily similar Instagram message to Grande: "Ummmmmm hiiiiiiiiiiii. i'm the luckiest contest winner ever."

Hmm ... Davidson appears to be a big fan of using "luckiest."

We don't know about you guys, but we can't help but wonder about the timing of Davidson and Grande's engagement. Although the big news came to light in June 2018, celebrity jeweler Greg Yuna revealed that Davidson reached out to him about Grande's $93,000 engagement ring back in May 2018. 

"Pete called me at the end of May and said, 'Look, I'm getting a ring. This is what I want,'" Yuna told E! News. "And I told him that I had the right ring for him. He didn't tell me who it was for but told me to keep it a secret. He didn't tell me anything about it."

As for why this is news? Well, Davidson confirmed his breakup from Cazzie on May 16, 2018, which doesn't leave much time between their split and his engagement with Grande. Outwardly, David took the split in stride. "Been in Africa, what'd I miss??" she quipped in a June 2018 Instagram post. And while that's an absolutely perfect response, behind the scenes, things weren't so funny. 

Cazzie David might have publicly joked about her breakup with Pete Davidson, but privately she was devastated after her split from The King of Staten Island star. She finally told her heartbreaking side of the story in a 2020 interview with The Los Angeles Times while promoting her book of essays, No One Asked for This. Although the pair dated for four years, David explained that she had a difficult time convincing the SNL star that she was truly in love with him.

She decided to end things, but due to Davidson's previous issues with "self-harm and suicide threats," she held out as long as she could before pulling the plug on the relationship. She called him a few days later after having a change of heart, but Davidson replied that he was "the happiest he had ever been" then ended the relationship two days later by text message. David learned the following day via social media that he had already moved on with Ariana Grande.

David took it hard, explaining that she "shook uncontrollably" in her father's arms during a flight "to her sister's college graduation." She also shared that she couldn't stop thinking about Davidson and Grande "immediately falling in love, accompanied by audio of her baby voice whispering sweet nothings in his ear, dubbed over his past declarations of love and trust to me."

Hurricane Sandy, a category 3 storm, caused the deaths of 24 Staten Island residents when it hit the area in 2012. Making matters even more devastating? Hundreds of locals lost their homes and businesses amid all of the destruction. Translation: the powerful storm and the devastation it left behind is not funny, a memo Pete Davidson apparently missed when he made a joke about the situation in October 2016. 

Davidson, who hails from the New York City borough, took aim at his hometown (via SI Live), joking that Hurricane Sandy should have finished the job when it landed in Staten Island, a remark that didn't sit well with many local residents. Davidson, however, stood firmly behind his jab during a "Weekend Update" monologue. "To be fair, I was raised there, and Staten Island should share some of the blame," he later clarified in November 2016. "It was a pretty Staten Island thing to say."

While the controversy should have ended there, Davidson — with the help of "Weekend Update" co-host Colin Jost — brought it back to life in November 2017. When discussing all of the backlash he received, Davidson quipped that the comment was "just a joke — a serious joke."

The bombing at Ariana Grande's May 2017 concert in Manchester, England left 23 dead and hundreds injured. The event was especially tragic because many of the victims were young teens, a fact that seemed to devastate Grande. "Broken. From the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry," Grande tweeted on May 22, 2017. "I don't have words."

Pete Davidson's thoughts on the tragedy in Manchester were decidedly less empathetic. According to The Mirror, the comedian reportedly quipped in the fall of 2017 that Grande must have realized how famous she was after the attack because "Britney Spears didn't have a terrorist attack at her concert." Yikes.

As for Grande's take on the so-called wisecrack? She seemed to excuse the controversy in a tweet to confused fans. "He uses comedy to help ppl feel better ab how f-ed up things in this world are," Grande wrote in July 2018, according to The Cut. "We all deal w trauma differently. I of course didn't find it funny. it was months ago & his intention wasn't/ is never malicious but it was unfortunate."

Well, we guess that's one way of looking at the situation.

A guy should never make light of a woman's reproductive rights. Pete Davidson learned this lesson the hard way when he joked about switching Ariana Grande's birth control with Tic Tacs. Yeah, that happened. The uncomfortable moment went down during Davidson's appearance on Saturday Night Live's popular "Weekend Update" segment, co-anchored by Colin Jost and Michael Che. The topic came up while Jost and Davidson chatted about Grande's wealth and her role as the "breadwinner" in their relationship. "I live at her place. She pays like 60 grand for rent and all I have to do is stock the fridge," Davidson admitted.

When Jost responded that a dude "doesn't always have to be the breadwinner in a relationship" (duh), Davidson shot back, "God damn right, Colin. He does not — last night I switched her birth control with Tic Tacs. I believe in us, and all. I just want to make sure that she can't go anywhere." As to be expected, Davidson got a lot of flak from fans for the remark.

Shortly before Pete Davidson's birth control comment on SNL, he took to The Howard Stern Show to dish on his sex life with Ariana Grande. Although Stern's show is known for its racy banter, and by this time there was no shortage of bizarre headlines regarding Davidson and Grande's relationship, let's just say Davidson took things a little too far in the conversation. "Any time we're intimate I'm always apologizing and saying thank you," he joked to Stern about sexy times with Grande, according to Hollywood Life. "'You're awesome for doing this, thank you so much.'" But that's not all he said. Davidson also made a joke about pleasuring himself to the thought of Grande "before [he] met her." he Um.

The whole thing is a little shady considering the comedian didn't have to go there, right? Perhaps Davidson should familiarize himself with the old adage "silence is golden." But maybe we shouldn't be too hard on Davidson, as masturbation seems to be one of his favorite stand-up topics. "You ever have the feeling, you're so sad you can't [masturbate]?" he said during a stand-up performance in late October 2018, just weeks after his split from Grande (via Us Weekly). "That hasn't happened to me." 

In an August 2018 profile piece about Pete Davidson for GQ, the article's author, Allie Jones, discussed how Ariana Grande's massive fame had changed his life. "He's started driving aimlessly around the city late at night, just to get some privacy," Jones penned. Based off of that quote, one would think Davidson doesn't like the limelight. But if you look closely at his antics post-Grande, this assessment doesn't exactly hold up. 

Exhibit A: Davidson brought up Grande during a stand-up routine just days after their split. "Um, I've been covering a bunch of tattoos, that's fun," Davidson told the audience, seemingly referencing his tats in honor of Grande, according to E! News. "I'm f**king 0 for 2 in the tattoo [department]. Yeah, I'm afraid to get my mom tattooed on me, that's how bad it is." The SNL star also joked during a benefit, "Well, as you could tell, I don't want to be here. There's a lot going on. Does anybody have any open rooms? Looking for a roommate?" If Davidson really does hate the spotlight, he should probably stop bringing up his famous ex.