Pete Davidson has a “post-rehab glow” after treatment.
Pete Davidson has that post-rehab glow.
The “Saturday Night Live” alum, who hit the comedy tour this month with comedian John Mulaney and political talk show host Jon Stewart, kicked off his set at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino’s Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey . on Sunday, discussing his most recent work in drug treatment.
“I’m fresh out of rehab, everyone,” Davidson exclaimed loudly People. “I got this glow after rehab. The seventh time is the charm!”
During his appearance, Davidson revealed that he had taken ketamine daily for four years before checking into a rehab facility in June.
According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency, Ketamine can be used to treat depression. It is called a “dissociative anesthetic and hallucinogen” because it makes patients feel detached from their pain and environment and can induce a state of sedation and amnesia.
“It was magical,” Davidson continued during his performance, joking that his ketamine use led to some psychedelic trips.
“I once managed to match the Wiggles with ‘Schindler’s List,'” he said.
The King of Staten Island star also admitted that he was so high at Aretha Franklin’s funeral in 2018 that he couldn’t believe he went out in public.
But Davidson, who turns 30 in November, told the audience he believes he is close to outgrowing his drug problems, saying: “At 30 you can’t do drugs anymore” because at that point “not cute anymore” and “you’re just a drug addict.”
Of course, growing out of a drug problem isn’t the way addiction works, which Davidson seems to be aware of – but hey, it’s a stand-up show, and many comedians make it their business to create humor use to deal with trauma, just as Davidson has in the past.
The “SNL” alum has spoken openly about his mental health struggles over the years. In a conversation with Glenn Close for the diversity On the “Actors on Actors” series in 2017, the comedian spoke about being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
“I was always so confused and just thinking something was wrong and didn’t know how to deal with it,” Davidson remembers. “When someone finally tells you, it feels like the weight of the world is lifted off your shoulders. You feel so much better.”
He then explained why he found standing up appealing, referencing the death of his father, Scott Davidson, a firefighter who died responding to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
“Of course there are plenty of braver jobs, but I think it’s brave to get on stage in front of people because it’s scary,” he said. “The reason I think I made it is because something shy happened to me when I was very young. We lost my father. When I was 16 I always wanted to try it because it gave me my break – Eddie Murphy and Chappelle and Bill Burr. My friends said, ‘You should do it.’ And it went well.”
Davidson told Jon Bernthal on “Real” In the podcast earlier this year, he reported that he was also struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the tragic death of his father.
“My father told me he would pick me up from school on September 11th. “I was picked up by my mother,” he began. “She didn’t tell me what was going on for about three days. And she kept telling me, ‘Dad’s at work,’ ‘Come home,’ whatever. I had no idea.”
“One night I turned on the TV and I just saw my dad on TV and I was like, ‘Oh, okay,'” Davidson continued, explaining that the news shows all the deceased firefighters.
“It was strange because we didn’t know he was dead for about three weeks,” he added. “They found people, you know? …And there was only one kind of hope. And it was just ups and downs and no one knew how to deal with it.”
Davidson added that the trauma of the ordeal had left him with severe abandonment issues – a symptom of borderline personality disorder.
“You know, Dad says he’s coming to get you and he’s not,” he said. “In life I don’t believe anyone and I’m trying to learn how to believe people – and Hollywood isn’t exactly the best place to learn that skill.”
