Pete Davidson stunned fans in February when he revealed his newly tattoo-free arms and midriff while posing for a Reformation campaign ― but he says his physical transformation is far from complete.
Speaking to Variety in an interview published on Thursday, the “Saturday Night Live” veteran shared the reasons he decided to gradually remove his 200 tattoos, as well as the timeframe and staggering cost required to do so.
“I started during COVID in 2020 and it’s gonna take me another 10 years. My arms are pretty much gone, and my hands and neck are gone,” Davidson explained. “But I still have to do my torso and back. It was really just because I wasn’t taking care of myself.”
From the sounds of it, the tattoo removal process isn’t for the pain-adverse or faint-of-heart, as Davidson described it as “like putting your arm on a grill and burning off a layer.”
As for how much the removal of all that ink is expected to set him back, he acknowledged, “It’s a pretty uncomfortable amount of money to disclose.”
“I’ve already spent like $200K and I’m like 30% done. So, like, it’s gonna suck,” he said. “Now that I’ve said [the tattoo remover’s] name, though, he’s a little nicer, for sure.”
Though Davidson has no issues with tattoos in general, he sees the removal of his body art as a way of marking a new chapter in his sobriety journey.
“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 told Variety. “So I’m just removing them and starting fresh, because that’s what I think works best for me and for my brain.”
In January, People reported that the “King of Staten Island” actor has been sober since September of last year, although he didn’t address that timeline in his Variety interview.
And while Davidson expects to remove the majority of his ink, he told NBC’s “Today” in January that he’s planning to keep “maybe, like, two or three” of his tattoos.
He quipped, “I’m trying to be an adult.”
Watch Pete Davidson’s Reformation ad below.
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