Pete Davidson has spoken about losing his father on September 11 for much of his adult life, sometimes seriously and sometimes through comedy. Becoming a father himself has changed the way he understands what happened.
Davidson was seven when his father, New York City firefighter Scott Matthew Davidson, died while responding to the World Trade Center attacks. “I thought, ‘Oh, he was an old guy. He’s 33,’” Davidson told the New York Post. “But now I’m there, and I have a kid, and that would be like my kid not having her dad.”
Davidson is 32 and turns 33 in November, putting him close to the age his father was when he died. His daughter, Scottie Rose Hewitt Davidson, was born in December 2025 and was named after the grandfather she will never meet.
That combination made the 25th anniversary especially difficult. Davidson said this year felt “way harder” than it had in a long time, but also “extra beautiful” because he would spend September 11 with Scottie. “It’ll be very healing and special,” he said.
Fatherhood Changed What 33 Means to Davidson
Scott Davidson was 33 when he died and had been an FDNY firefighter since 1994. He worked with Ladder Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights and responded after the second hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation remembers him as a father who coached Pete in football and baseball, watched daughter Casey’s dance recitals and frequently called firefighting “the greatest job in America.”
For Pete, his father’s age looks different now that he is raising a child himself. What sounded old to a seven-year-old no longer resembles a long life as he approaches 33 and thinks about everything Scott lost with two young children at home.
Davidson has not decided exactly how he will explain September 11 to Scottie when she is old enough to understand what happened. He said he has time before that conversation becomes necessary and has kept photographs, videos and stories that can eventually introduce her to the man whose name she carries.
Scottie Already Carries Her Grandfather’s Name
Davidson and Scottie’s mother, Elsie Hewitt, agreed on the name before their daughter was born on December 12, 2025. Scott was his father’s name, while his friends knew him as Scotty.
“It was really cool that Elsie also wanted to name her Scottie,” Davidson said. When their daughter arrived, he said they looked at her and agreed that the name suited her. “It’s nice to keep that name alive.”
He has also noticed Scottie repeatedly looking at a photograph of his father. When she was a newborn and they bathed her in the sink, a picture of Scott hung nearby and regularly caught her attention. Davidson initially assumed she was simply staring at whatever happened to be in front of her.
After moving the photograph to another part of the home, Davidson said Scottie continued turning her head toward it when he carried her through the room. “I don’t know what I believe in,” he said, “but I like to think that his presence is somehow around.”
Davidson Wants to Mark 9/11 With More Than Grief
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Davidson has taken a visible role in the 25th anniversary commemorations. He appeared in 9/11 Day’s UNIITE for Good campaign, which encourages people to honor those killed in the attacks through service and acts of kindness.
On September 10, Davidson joined Jon Stewart, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Nikki Glaser, Aziz Ansari and other comedians at Madison Square Garden for NYC Still Rising After 25 Years, a comedy benefit supporting organizations that serve 9/11 first responders and their families.
Davidson said he wanted the event to offer families another way to experience a date that often brings an unavoidable return of horrific images and documentaries. “We want to reclaim the day and just have fun,” he said, rather than spend another anniversary surrounded entirely by material that forces survivors and relatives to relive the attacks.
He also criticized the way 9/11 has become material for online memes among people too young to remember it. Davidson acknowledged that many people sincerely mark the anniversary even without a personal connection, but said the experience is different for families who have carried its consequences for 25 years.
His Memories of Scott Are Still About Ordinary Things
When Davidson spoke about his father on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend in 2025, many of the details he remembered were ordinary ones. Scott was funny, drove a Subaru Impreza, smoked cigarettes and seemed to have a smile on his face whenever Pete pictured him.
Davidson said strangers sometimes approach him after shows claiming they knew his father, but he has developed a way of recognizing the people who probably did. Their faces change when they start talking about him, and they usually call him “Scotty,” the name his friends used.
The 25th anniversary also brought Davidson into the ABC News special 9/11: United We Stand – 25 Years Later, which explored how sports and entertainment helped people begin healing after the attacks. Michael Strahan recalled how New York Giants players connected with families affected by 9/11, including Davidson’s family, before he and Pete crossed paths again years later.
Davidson now has another generation to share those memories with. He said he plans to show Scottie the old photographs and videos he still has and tell her the stories he has collected about her grandfather when she becomes old enough to ask about him.