Overview

• During his August 2025 appearance on The Breakfast Club, Pete Davidson said he was embarrassed by public focus on his body and that the “big dick energy” coverage overshadowed discussion of his work.
• He traced the narrative’s emergence to a New York Times mention followed by Ariana Grande’s 2018 joke on X, noting that subsequent tabloid and online chatter cemented the discourse.
• Davidson said friends, family and SNL colleagues noticed his distress and that the sexualization made navigating relationships difficult.
• He called living through the public scrutiny “sort of traumatic” and credited it with influencing his decision to step back from the spotlight to protect his mental health.
• Davidson is now in a relationship with Elsie Hewitt, expecting their first child together, and pursues film projects including the thriller The Home and the comedy heist The Pickup.