Summary of Interview of Pete Davidson: "Yeah! Well, I used to jerk off to Leonardo DiCaprio"
Before meeting Pete for the first time, I had low expectations that we'd get along. I knew nothing substantial about him, only what I'd heard through others and tidbits from the press, which is to say I'd only heard gossip. I'm six years sober and I was pretty certain he partied — and partied hard. And straight guys tend to put me on edge; I never feel comfortable or safe enough to be myself around most of them. But a close friend I was crashing within New York had met him at a party a few days before, and they were hanging out when I landed in the city.
It was the beginning of summer. As the elevator doors opened onto our now-mutual friend's Soho loft, I heard this crazy, guttural laugh and there he was, in all his Pete glory: basketball shorts, tattoos, baseball cap, smoking a blunt with a Colgate Wisphanging out of his mouth like an early-aughts toothpick. "Hey man!" he said before I could even put my bag down. I immediately felt drawn to him in this way that I've stopped trying to even make sense of. In a way that had nothing to do with his "BDE" [Big Dick Energy] (or maybe everything to do with it?). It was clear that I'd judged him too soon. We chilled that night, and I felt like I'd known him my whole life, or in past lives like we were kindred and destined to be friends. Maybe it's because he reminds me of my older brother, even if he is two years younger than me; maybe it's because he stood up to shake my hand hello and sincerely made me feel welcome; maybe it's because he has this ability to laugh so goofily that you're immediately disarmed and can't help laughing with him.
Clothing and accessories: Versace
I think, in the end though, if I had to sum it up in one word it'd have to be heart: a massive — perhaps wounded — eagerly available heart inside the body of a boy I would've expected to beat me up in high school. A heart that will text you out of the blue, from 10,000 miles away, to say, "I'm here for you always, just want you to know, I love you!" A heart that isn't afraid to show love to anybody around him or of seeming "gay" for doing it. A heart that has changed my perspective and opened my eyes to a world of fun and what it means to truly be a friend — to be there for someone else without judgment, no questions asked.
"Yeah! And dickless, like, with Ken-dick," he said, and the whole car exploded with laughter. And actress/model/artist Julia Fox was the perfect outer-borough Barbie to Pete's Ken. A star on the rise in her own right, she's currently starring in the Safdie brothers' new film, Uncut Gems, produced by one of Pete's good friends, Sebastian Bear-McClard.
A few weeks after we shot the cover in Bushwick, Pete and I met up in LA on the set of The Real Bros of Simi Valley — he was shooting a cameo — for a wide-ranging conversation, touching on his relationships, Leonardo DiCaprio, gay rights and where he sees himself in 10 years.
(On Pete) Sweater and necklace: Versace; Pants and shoes: S.R. Studio. LA. CA.; Briefs: Pete's own; (On Julia) Hair bow: Hairstylist's own; Earrings: Susan Alexandra; Rings: Ralph Masri
Are you ever in Staten Island when you're not working?
I'm always in Staten Island since I built this little fortress in my mom's basement. Pretty much all the homies just come over, we smoke a bunch of weed and micro-dose [mushrooms] and we watch movies.
That sounds like a dream...
Yeah! We don't really go out much, and I made my basement kinda like Vegas, where there are different lights, so you can't tell what time it is ever... Also, I pump it full of oxygen — we have a thing that sucks the smoke out.
And your mom and her Peloton?
Yeah. My mom Peloton bikes every night... and it really sounds like she's getting banged out...
Haha moving on. So let's talk about comedy. Compared to when you were first starting out in comedy, the world seems like a more hyper-sensitive place where you can't say anything without somebody being offended. What does that feel like as a comic?
It makes doing college [shows] really hard. I refuse to do a college after this year 'cause it's like, you're just setting yourself up for trouble... Comedy is just, like, getting destroyed. Standup's about to be about, like, sneakers. Like, "Hey, everyone like sneakers?" You can't talk about anything. You can't. The second you open your mouth and have an opinion, you lose money today. And I don't think that's a safe place to live in.
Creatively, it seems like it would stunt you.
It's the worst! It's why I got rid of the Internet.
Yeah! Well, I used to jerk off to Leonardo DiCaprio... Uhh, like his acting.
I mean, THAT'S amazing…
Yeah. I used to have a HUGE crush on Leonardo DiCaprio. I had this huge poster of him from The Beach in my room, and they're used to be, like, "Leo love books"... Do you remember? Like, right when Titanic came out [when I was] in like a third or fourth grade, he was just like, "teen milk." There were love books and I had all of them. He was the coolest.
Have you met Leo now?
I've met him twice and I've just shaken hands and run away fast, like —
I've met him twice and I've just shaken hands and run away fast, like —
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