Pete Davidson Tattoos: What He Had, What He Removed and Why

For years, Pete Davidson was one of the most heavily tattooed people in comedy, with reports putting his total at around 200 tattoos. Then he started taking them off.

His story is one of the most public examples of tattoo removal there is, and it is a lot more useful than most celebrity tattoo coverage. Here is what he had, what he has removed, what he kept, and what he has said about the process in his own words.

The tattoos that defined his image

Davidson's arms, chest and hands were covered in a patchwork of pieces collected over years: pop culture references, jokes, tributes and designs connected to people in his life. Reported examples over the years included a Winnie the Pooh and a portrait of Hillary Clinton, the kind of playful, spontaneous tattoos that gave his collection its chaotic, personal feel.

Tributes to his father

The most important tattoos in his life relate to his father, Scott Davidson, a New York City firefighter who died responding to the September 11 attacks in 2001, when Pete was seven. His father's memory has been a lasting theme in his work and his ink. Scott Davidson's FDNY badge number, 8418, became widely known after Ariana Grande had it tattooed on her ankle during her engagement to Pete in 2018.

Relationship tattoos

Davidson's relationships made his tattoos tabloid news. During his engagement to Ariana Grande, the pair were widely reported to have got several tattoos connected to each other, and those were later covered or removed after the relationship ended.

While dating Kim Kardashian, he had "my girl is a lawyer" tattooed, and he also had her name branded, rather than tattooed, on his chest. Those, too, became reminders of why relationship tattoos are some of the most commonly regretted, something we look at in our piece on what people regret most about their tattoos.

Why he started removing them

Davidson began laser removal around 2020. In a January 2025 interview on TODAY, he explained that the decision was tied to getting sober: "I got sober and I saw myself in the mirror, and I was like nah. I need to change it up a little bit."

That motivation is more common than people think. Many people who remove tattoos are not rejecting the person they were so much as marking a change in who they are now.

What removal has actually been like

Davidson has been honest that it is not a quick or easy fix. Asked in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2025 to rate the pain on a scale of one to ten, he said it was a 10, and described the process as "pretty terrible."

He also said he had been filming his removal sessions and showing them to younger people in his family, as a warning about what you have to go through if you change your mind about a tattoo.

His experience matches what dermatologists tell patients. Laser removal typically takes many sessions spaced weeks apart, because the skin needs time to heal and the body gradually clears the broken up ink. Large, dense, colourful or heavily layered tattoos take longest, and complete removal is never guaranteed. Our guide to why at-home tattoo removal is a bad idea explains why shortcuts can cause scarring.

A new chapter: the Scottie tattoo

After years of removal, Davidson has not sworn off tattoos entirely. In April 2026, while promoting a new film at CinemaCon, he was seen with a new tattoo reading "Scottie" beside his ear, a tribute to his daughter, Scottie, reported to be named in honour of his late father.

It is a neat summary of how many people's relationship with tattoos evolves: fewer impulsive pieces, and more that are chosen carefully and mean something permanent.

What his tattoo story teaches

• Removal is harder than tattooing. A tattoo takes hours. Removing a large collection takes years, many painful sessions and considerable money.
• Relationship tattoos are risky. Names, portraits and in jokes tied to a partner are among the tattoos people most often want gone.
• Face and hand tattoos carry extra weight. They are the most visible and among the hardest to live with if your life changes. See our guide to face tattoos.
• Family tributes last. The tattoos people keep, and come back to, are usually tied to parents, children and people they have lost.

For more stories behind famous ink, read our guide to celebrity tattoos with real meaning.

Sources: Pete Davidson interview on TODAY, January 2025; Entertainment Tonight interview as reported by iHeart, October 2025; Rolling Stone; E! News reporting on his CinemaCon appearance, April 2026.