Pete Davidson wants to be known for his work, not as “this f—ing loser who dates people.”
The Saturday Night Live alum spoke to W Magazine about his public perception and how his celebrity has infiltrated his personal and professional lives.
“I just want to be known for doing good work,” said Davidson, 31. “I want to be out there only when it’s movies, stand-up, charity, or business ventures. That’s when I want to be seen. I don’t want to be this f—ing loser who just dates people. That’s not who I am.”
Whether he likes it or not, Davidson’s love life has been anything but private. The comedian and actor was briefly engaged to Ariana Grande before he went on to date other A-list celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Kate Beckinsale, Cazzie David, Emily Ratajkowski and Madelyn Cline.
Reflecting on his career in the limelight — which included an eight-season run on SNL, a starring role in his semi-autobiographical film The King of Staten Island, and a starring and executive producer title for 2019 comedy Big Time Adolescence — Davidson now admits he was “oversaturated.”
“In The Sopranos, there’s this line from Tony that’s like, ‘You ever feel like you got into something at the end? When the good times were over?’ That’s how I feel about show business and being a celebrity. It’s over,” he said.
He added, “I made the mistake of doing literally everything. Now I’m older and wiser, and I’m realizing that less is more.”
As a result, Davidson has been laying low as of late — focused on, of all things, socks. Recently named creative director of colorful sock brand Doublesoul, he said the product is “comfy and sexy, and the name is cool.” Working with founders Ben Rosenbaum and Allison Strumeyer, Davidson found himself immediately pitching ideas that, according to Strumeyer, “reflected his deep insight about what shapes cultural relevance.”
Davidson doesn’t plan on stopping there, either. Knowing that his out-there fashion sense has caught fans’ attention in the past, his eccentric look is an aspect of his celebrity that he’s seemed to embrace.
According to the actor, he’d be interested in doing more in the fashion space — if it means staying “behind the scenes” without becoming one of those celebrities who pushes their brand onto their followers.
This new line of work is a stark change from acting and comedy, and Davidson appears to have welcomed it.
“People hate celebrities now,” he added. “The media takes a handful of celebs every couple of years, and they just destroy them. For some reason, I’m one of the people they chose to go after. It’s actually, in a way, a blessing, because it allowed me to take a step back and evaluate things.”
Now that he’s evaluating, Davidson doesn’t have to think of himself as that “loser who dates people.”
“That voice was very loud in my head for a while,” he admitted.
