Pete Davidson Reveals ‘Brutal’ Reality of Removing Tattoos: ‘You Don’t Know What’s Going On Under There’

Pete Davidson shared an update on his tedious tattoo removal journey, which he began in 2020.

In an interview with E! News on Tuesday, November 10, the 32-year-old Saturday Night Live alum revealed that getting rid of his tattoos is still an ongoing process, prompting him to cover up.

“It’s brutal,” Davidson said. “I’ve only been wearing sweaters for, like, six months, so you don’t know what’s going on under there.”

Although Davidson has nearly finished removing all of his tattoos, he hinted that he may get new ink in the future.

“You never know, they might come back,” Davidson, who shares daughter Scottie, 11 months, with ex Elsie Hewitt, joked.

Davidson once had about 200 tattoos covering his arms and chest. During a January 2025 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he said he was “trying to clean-slate it” and that his tattoos were “almost gone.”

“I’ve been burning them off,” he said of the process. “They burn off a layer of your skin, then it has to heal for six to eight weeks.”

Davidson continued, “You can’t get in the sunlight. And then you’ve got to do it, like, 12 more times.”

As for why he got so many tattoos in the first place, Davidson said he was a “sad boy” and that everyone was getting them at the time.