Pete Davidson exposes abusive family member during comedy show: ‘He used to beat me'

New York Post

01-07-2025

Pete Davidson exposed some family secrets during his recent stand-up gig.
The comedian, 31, performed alongside Jon Stewart and John Mulaney at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday during the North to Shore Festival when he shared his childhood trauma.
While on the stage, Davidson spoke about his maternal grandfather, sharing with the crowd that 'he got the lung cancer and I'm not that close with him.'
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9 Pete Davidson backstage at the comedy show.
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'I'm close with my dad's dad,' the 'Bupkis' star explained. 'I don't like my mom's dad.'
As for why there is no love lost, Davidson revealed, 'He used to beat the s–t out of me and I don't like him very much.'
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9 Pete Davidson backstage at the North to Shore Festival.
thewatchkingnyc/Instagram
'He's old school, he's very Irish,' the actor said about his 81-year-old grandfather. 'You know those old Irish Jews that are so Irish, they're like pink, right?'
'His veneers are somehow brown. He's just an old school dude, and he's dying.'
Davidson is close to his paternal grandfather, Stephen Davidson, who is the dad of the actor's late father, Scott Davidson. Stephen, 85, was featured in Davidson's 2020 movie 'The King of Staten Island.'
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'I want to be there for my mom,' the comic continued regarding his mother's dying father. 'She's sad about it.'
9 Pete Davidson performs onstage at The Bill Graham Stage during Colossal Clusterfest at Civic Center Plaza and The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on June 4, 2017.
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The 'Saturday Night Live' alum said: 'I'm low key, thrilled. I'm like, die slow motherf–ker.'
Davidson explained to the audience that his grandfather has emphysema, a long-term lung condition that causes shortness of breath, per the Mayo Clinic, adding he hopes his grandpa 'f–king rots.'
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Davidson admitted it's a 'tough' spot for him to be in because, of course, he wants to support his mom, Amy Waters Davidson, but he is 'so stoked.'
9 Pete Davidson on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.'
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'I don't want to be rude to my mom,' he shared. 'I think I have the best mom in the world. I'm very, very lucky. So I've been trying to remember a good time that me and my grandpa had so I could hold onto it.'
Davidson did recount a 'few positive experiences' with his grandpa, including an inside joke about an internet personality 'cake fart girl.'
The 'Riff Raff' star has been candid about his rocky upbringing in the past, telling People in April: 'I had a really sh–ty childhood and like the worst thing that ever could have happened to me, happened to me when I was seven.'
9 Pete Davidson and his sister.
davesirus/Instagram
At age seven, Davidson's dad, a New York City firefighter, died while responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Throughout his life, the star has continued to talk about their bond and honor his late father.
Davidson explained to the outlet how the loss has altered his mindset over the years.
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He noted, 'I've kind of just been like, 'F–k it. Like who the f–k cares?' You know? And like, 'F–k everyone.''
Davidson — who has had very public relationships over the years, including with Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian — has 'obviously fallen into traps' in the past.
9 Pete Davidson in NYC.
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'Trying to be of service to others and not take care of myself,' the star, who is now dating model Elsie Hewitt, confessed, 'and like just try people please.'
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Despite his fractured relationship with his mom's dad, Davidson is also close to his only sibling, sister Casey Davidson, 28.
'At the end of the day, it's like your family matters and your two or three friends that you have matter. Everybody else can go f–k themselves,' he stated. 'And you don't have to put all this pressure on yourself.'
9 Pete Davidson out in NYC.
Felipe Ramales / SplashNews.com
'This is sort of newer for me,' Davidson said of his mindset. 'But I think it kind of shows if you see me now… it's a little different because I went through something pretty tough.'
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'I just think who cares what people you don't even know think?' he expressed. 'Like who the f–k cares You don't know them.'
In 2023, Davidson shared how he discovered his dad had died.
9 Pete Davidson.
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'My dad told me he was going to pick me up from school on 9/11. I got picked up by my mom. She didn't tell me what was going on for like three days,' he said on the 'Real Ones' podcast at the time. 'She kept telling me, 'Dad's at work,' 'He's coming home,' whatever. I had no idea.'
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'Then one night, I turned on the TV and I just saw my dad on the TV,' he recalled. 'I was like, 'Oh, OK.' And they were like, these are all the firemen that are, like, dead.'
'It was weird because we didn't know he was dead for, like, three weeks,' Davidson added. 'They were finding people, you know? They were pulling people out of s–t, and there was just some sort of hope. Like, it was just up and down and nobody knew how to deal with it.'
9 Elsie Hewitt and Pete Davidson.
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The tragic death caused abandonment issues for the 'Bodies Bodies Bodies' vet.
'You know, Dad says he's coming to pick you up and he doesn't. For life, I'm like, I don't believe anyone, and I'm trying to learn how to believe people — and Hollywood isn't exactly the greatest place to learn that skill,' he continued.
Looking back, Davidson said he appreciated how much his mom stepped up during that tragic time.
'My mom was f–king, like, 30 … I'm about to be – I wouldn't know what the f–k to do,' he detailed. 'And that's why as I get older I'm like, 'Man, my mom was awesome. F–k, she really loves me.''