Pete Davidson Admits He Regrets Getting a Dave Chappelle ‘Swag’ Quote Tattooed on His Chest

NEED TO KNOW

• Pete Davidson appeared on Hot Ones and revealed that he got a “humiliating” tattoo inspired by Dave Chappelle

• Davidson met Chappelle at one of his comedy shows, and Chappelle told him “swag” is just as important as having good jokes

• Davidson got Chappelle’s swag quote tattooed across his chest and later covered it up with a Jaws shark

Pete Davidson has opened up about regretting his tattoos on several occasions, but doesn’t always get into the meanings behind his ink.

The Saturday Night Live alum appeared on the July 28 episode of Hot Ones and revealed that he got a large tattoo on his chest after a chance encounter with comedian Dave Chappelle.

“I’ve never admitted this because it’s so humiliating,” Davidson told host Sean Evans. “But when I was like 20 at a comedy club, it might have been the Knitting Factory when Hannibal Buress used to run it, I did a set. I was like 19 or 20.”

Chappelle attended Davidson’s set during his hiatus, which came after he walked away from Chappelle’s Show in 2006. “So seeing him was crazy.” Davidson continued, “He was like, ‘I watched your whole set. It was really good.’”

During their talk, Davidson asked Chappelle, “How do you keep coming up with new stuff? I’m working on new stuff. It’s difficult.” The Grammy Award-winning comedian replied, “Jokes come and go, but swag is forever.”

Davidson was so inspired by the quote that he got it tattooed on half of his chest. The tattoo of the quote did not include an attribution to Chapelle, causing those who saw it to believe Davidson came up with the phrase on his own.

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“You know, I could have just told people he said that to me,” he explained. “I didn’t put ‘dash Chappelle.’”

The King of Staten Island star was later so embarrassed by the ink that he “covered it with Jaws” because he “needed something huge to black it out. I just put a giant shark over it.”

In April, the 31-year-old revealed his plans to remove all of his tattoos in a interview with Variety, after focusing on his sobriety and mental health.

“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,” Davidson told the outlet. “So I’m just removing them and starting fresh, because that’s what I think works best for me and for my brain.”

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He continued, “When I look in the mirror, I don’t want the reminder of ‘Oh yeah, you were a f—— drug addict. Like, that’s why you have SpongeBob smoking a joint on your back.’ They should have meaning. Not just that I was high watching Game of Thrones.”

The comedian revealed that he has to plan his tattoo removal sessions “between work because it’s a six-week healing process each time you get one removed.” He also explained a single tattoo removal takes 10 to 12 sessions and totals 60 weeks, meaning that the entire process is “gonna take me another 10 years.”

“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,” the Bupkis actor added. “And it’s pretty tough. It sucks, I’m not gonna lie.”

In between tattoo removal sessions and upcoming projects, Davidson will be preparing himself for fatherhood.

The comedian’s girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, confirmed that she is pregnant with his first child in a July 16 Instagram post that featured a picture of the sonogram. “Welp now everyone knows we had sex,” the mom-to-be joked.

“I’m very lucky and very, very happy,” the comedian told E! News at the New York City premiere of his latest movie, The Home, on July 22 following the news.

“Everybody’s just been super excited for me, because they know it’s been my dream,” Davidson added. “They all just have been like, ‘You’re going to be great at this. It’s the best thing you’ll ever do in your life.'”

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