Pete Davidson says his drug use reached a frightening point in 2023 when taking substances no longer made him feel high.
Speaking to Variety, the 32-year-old described using ketamine, acid, mushrooms and whippets while smoking marijuana throughout the day and taking pills daily. “It got scary because I didn’t feel high,” he said.
His mother, Amy Davidson, eventually called and told him that one of her biggest fears was waking up to news that something terrible had happened to him. “I reached a point where I couldn’t do that to her anymore,” Davidson recalled.
He returned to rehab after previous stays in treatment, but said this time was different because the decision had to come from him rather than a job, a relationship or somebody else’s expectations.
‘Bupkis’ Kept Sending Davidson Back Into Painful Parts of His Life
Davidson traced his lowest point to the summer of 2023, after making Bupkis, the semi-autobiographical Peacock series in which he played a fictionalized version of himself.
He said repeatedly revisiting experiences from his own life while making the show became difficult. Entertainment Weekly reported that Davidson connected that period with his escalating substance use, saying he relied on drugs to numb what he was feeling.
His routine had also changed after leaving Saturday Night Live in 2022. Davidson had spent much of his adult life working within the show’s demanding weekly schedule, and the structure that came with it was suddenly gone.
By the time he was in treatment around his 30th birthday, he said his career felt stalled as well. Davidson recalled having little professionally on the horizon while confronting habits that had become part of his everyday life.
Davidson Says Marijuana Was the Hardest Habit to Quit
Davidson says it has now been roughly two or three years since he used what he described as “really hard stuff” and more than a year since he stopped using marijuana.
He told Variety that marijuana unexpectedly proved the hardest substance for him to leave behind. Davidson said he no longer uses drugs and drinks only occasionally, estimating that he has about four beers a year.
The change followed years in which rehab had not always been something Davidson pursued entirely for himself. His account of the 2023 stay centered on reaching the point where he personally wanted his life to change.
His Daughter Gave Him Another Reason to Stay on Course
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Davidson welcomed daughter Scottie with former partner Elsie Hewitt in December 2025. He told Variety that if the thought of using crosses his mind now, seeing his daughter on his phone background quickly changes what he is thinking about.
Fatherhood has also changed the way he approaches his career. During a recent Interview Magazine conversation with Charlamagne tha God, Davidson said, “I behave differently now. Every decision is different.”
He said new job offers now come with practical questions about how long he would be away, whether the project is worth the time apart and where filming would take place. Davidson also said he wants Scottie to be proud of both of her parents and to grow up feeling comfortable and safe.
Davidson learned he was going to become a father the same week he agreed to make How to Rob a Bank. The coincidence became more personal when he learned he would have a daughter because his character in the film is also a father to a young girl.
Davidson appears alongside Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Anna Sawai, Christian Slater and John C. Reilly in David Leitch’s How to Rob a Bank. Sony Pictures has scheduled the film for a Nov. 13 theatrical release.