Pete Davidson says SNL jokes about his dating life made him feel like a ‘loser’

Pete Davidson has spoken out about his relationships making headlines, with the comedian revealing that he doesn’t understand why people are interested in his love life.

The 29-year-old actor reflected on how his dating life has impacted his professional one during a recent episode of Jon Berthnal’s podcast, Real Ones.

Davidson has been in many public romances, as he dated ex-fiancée Ariana Grande for five months in 2018 and was in a nine month relationship with Kim Kardashian, which ended in August 2022. He’s currently rumoured to be dating Chase Sui Wonders, who starred in his film, Bodies Bodies Bodies. Previously, he’s been romantically linked to Emily Ratajkowski, Kate Beckinsale, Margaret Qualley, and Kaia Gerber.

During his conversation with Berthnal, shared via People, the former Saturday Night Live star said that he didn’t understand why fan cared about his love life, in the midst of his busy career.

“I’m in my twenties and I’ve dated people. And for some reason, that’s very crazy and interesting to people. I don’t think it’s interesting,” he said. “I’ve been in show business for, like, half my life almost, for 14 or 15 years and on a national TV show.”

He specified how many people he’s dated and claimed that this is the main thing about him that people “talk about”.

“In 12 years I’ve dated 10 people. I don’t think that’s that crazy, but to some people, that’s very interesting,” Davidson added. “That became all anyone would talk about.”

The King of Staten Island star also said that he wasn’t trying to “flex” his relationships and pointed out that he’s met partners through work.

“I wasn’t in anyone’s DMs, no one was in mine. I worked at one of the five Hollywood epicentres of where you meet people and that’s how it happened,” he explained.

According to Davidson, the public interest in his dating life made him feel like he was “in this zeitgeist and that has nothing to do with work”. He then claimed that when SNL would make jokes about his relationships, back when he was still on the show, it ultimately made him feel like a “loser”.

“I’d be sitting in the back watching the cold open and — the cold open [is] topical, political humour, whatever’s in the culture. And then, making fun of you,” he said. “Then you’ve gotta walk out and do a sketch next and hit your mark and the show just made fun of you. So, why are they gonna laugh at you? Like, they just dogged you in front of everyone. ... And you’re like, ‘I’m a f***ing loser, man.’”

He also praised his former co-workers, who had been with him “for almost a decade” and watched him grow up. However, because of these jokes on his love life, Davidson said he didn’t always understand what the “nature” of the set was.

“They’ve watched me through the most difficult time in my life, and they’ve been there for me,” he explained. “And nobody ever showed more leeway and grace to me than Lorne Michaels, and I owe my life to that guy. But it was f***ing confusing because the nature of entertainment is the nature of this business.”

Davidson doubled down on how the sketches impacted him, adding: “At the end of the day, that’s what it is. This was a really difficult thing to do. You feel small. You feel super insecure.”

The actor’s comments come after he did a sketch on SNL in January 2022,  where he poked fun at his dating life, while in his relationship with Kardashian at the time. During the opening of the show, he played a shirtless tattooed Joe Biden, who said that we were living in a messed-up alternate timeline, as he was the Biden from the “real universe”.

“The timeline you’re all living in is about to collapse,” he said. “You see, it was created as a joke starting in 2016 when the Chicago Cubs won the world series, and now it spiralled out of control and could explode at any minute.”

He continued: “Everyone on Earth is better off in the real world except one man named Pete Davidson. Your world is maybe more fun for him.”