Pete Davidson's appearance at the SNL 50th Anniversary show has some wondering what happened to his over 200 tattoos.
Fans may remember Davidson for eight years on the TV mainstay, appearing on the sketch comedy show as the youngest cast member at just 20 years old.
Throughout his time on the series, Davidson became known for his hilarious Weekend Update appearances, drama-filled love life, and slowly turning his skin into a canvas that included what seemed to be hundreds of pieces of on-body art.
What Happened to Pete Davidson's Tattoos?
Pete Davidson recently shocked fans by showing that he is slowly removing his tattoos.
In an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Davidson revealed he has been actively undergoing tattoo removal on his nearly 200 pieces of body art, a process he said was an effort to "be an adult" and "clean slate it:"
Fallon: "Are you going to keep any?"
Davidson: "Maybe like two or three. But I am trying to clean slate it. Trying to be an adult."
The former Saturday Night Live star has become known for his tattooed look. Fans have watched him slowly cover his body in ink during his time on the series and beyond (like in 2022's viral horror movie Bodies Bodies Bodies).
During his chat with Fallon, Davidson said part of the reasoning for getting so many tattoos had to do with the trend over the last few years among his celebrity peers. " Everybody was just getting tattoos like five years ago," he joked, saying this was an effort to get in on that:
"Probably like 200. Yeah. I was a sad boy. It was a weird time. I don't know, everybody was just getting tattoos like five years ago. Post Malone was like 'Always tired.' And I was like, 'Yeah, me too dude. I'm exhausted.'"
However, he is feeling pain (literally) now as he ventures to remove a large swath of the tattoos he has gotten. He told the late-night host, "I have been burning them off," calling the pain of the experience "horrible:"
"I have been burning them off. They are almost gone. It is horrible. They gotta burn off a layer of your skin, and then it has to heal for six to eight weeks, and you cannot get in the sunlight. And then you gotta do it like 12 more times. So really think about that 'Game of Thrones' tattoo you are thinking of getting, alright?"
Fans got a glimpse of the progress of Davidson's tattoo removal process in the recently aired SNL 50th Anniversary Special, in which he appeared alongside SNL veteran Laraine Newman as his fan-favorite sketch character, Chad (read more about the SNL 50th Anniversary Special cast here).
In the sketch, he could be seen with his shirt off briefly, showing off the fading tattoo across his arms and chest.
As Davidson mentioned in his Tonight Show interview, the removal process is ongoing but "almost [done]," which is why the tattoos looked the way they did in the SNL 50 segment.
This is likely an effort by the 31-year-old to turn over a new leaf, leaving behind his 20s (as many people tend to do) and venture into the rest of his adult life, post his rise to fame.
Pete Davidson can be seen in the SNL 50th Anniversary Special, which is streaming on Peacock.
