Former ‘SNL’ Star Pete Davidson Spending Six Figures To Remove All His Tattoos

“SNL” alum Pete Davidson recently discussed his decision to remove all his tattoos, a process which will take years and will cost well into six figures.

The 31-year-old comedian was well known for being covered in ink. But now, in addition to living a sober lifestyle, Davidson has decided to remove all the tattoos because they remind him of negative parts of his past.

“I used to be a drug addict and I was a sad person, and I felt ugly and that I needed to be covered up,” he said in an interview with Variety. “So I’m just removing them and starting fresh, because that’s what I think works best for me and for my brain. When I look in the mirror, I don’t want the reminder of ‘Oh yeah, you were a f***ing drug addict. Like, that’s why you have SpongeBob smoking a joint on your back.’”

The “SNL” star told the outlet that he began the removal process during the pandemic. So far, he has removed tattoos from his arms, hands, and neck. But with each tattoo requiring ten or twelve sessions to remove, plus 6 weeks of recovery time each, it’s been a slow process.

“That’s 60 weeks of your life right there on just one tattoo to remove,” he said. “So, it’s pretty horrible. It’s like putting your arm on a grill and burning off a layer, and then you gotta do maintenance and let it heal properly. And it’s pretty tough. It sucks, I’m not gonna lie.”

Davidson estimates it will take him a decade to be tattoo-free. When asked how much it cost, he said, “It’s a pretty uncomfortable amount of money to disclose, but I think one of the tabloids already leaked it. I’ve already spent like 200K and I’m like 30% done. So, like, it’s gonna suck.”

Previously, the “King of Staten Island” star implied he was removing the tattoos because of his movie career. “I honestly never thought that I would get the opportunity to act and I love it a lot,” he told Seth Meyers in 2021. “You have to get there three hours earlier to cover all your tattoos, because for some reason, people in movies, they don’t have that much.”

Some of Davidson’s tattoos being removed include a shark, a Rocky Balboa quote, a unicorn, and  portraits of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Hillary Clinton.