
Pete Davidson spoke openly about his father, Scott Davidson, who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In addition to recalling the heartbreaking moment, the former Saturday Night Live cast member discussed his mental health and ongoing therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Pete, now 29, was only seven years old when his father, a firefighter, died in the World Trade Center disaster.
During an appearance on Jon Bernthal’s Real One podcast, the comedian revealed that his father “told me he was going to pick me up on 9/11” before the worst happened.
“My mother came to pick me up. She didn’t tell me anything for about three days. I had no idea why she kept telling me my father was at work.
My mum was like, ‘You’re just grounded, you can’t watch TV,” he recalled, adding, “I was like, ‘What? ‘I didn’t do anything,’ she says. Then one night I turned on the TV and saw my father on it.”
“They’re like, ‘These are all the dead firemen,'” Pete explained.” He described it as a “weird” time for his family, who didn’t know whether his father was alive or dead for weeks as rescue missions continued to pull people from the rubble.
Since his father’s death, Pete has struggled to trust others, saying, “Dad says he’s going to pick you up, he doesn’t, so for life, I don’t believe anyone.”
“I’m trying to learn to believe people, and Hollywood isn’t the best place to do so.” Because Hollywood is like high school, I went from traumatic life to high school traumatic life.”