Pete Davidson is reflecting on his first 9/11 as a dad, 25 years after his own father — a New York City firefighter — was killed at the World Trade Center during the attacks.
The Saturday Night Live alum has often spoken about his father, Scott Matthew Davidson, who died at age 33, both in his stand-up and in more serious settings.
In a new interview with The New York Post, Davidson said: “I thought, ‘Oh, he was an old guy. He’s 33. But now I’m there, and I have a kid, and that would be like my kid not having her dad.
“So this year is extra tough, but also extra beautiful because I get to spend the day with Scottie. It’ll be very healing and special.”
Davidson welcomed daughter Scottie Rose Hewitt Davidson with his former partner, model Elsie Hewitt, in December. The couple split shortly after their daughter was born, but said they were united on her name.
“It was really cool that Elsie also wanted to name her Scottie,” he said. “My dad’s name was Scott, but his nickname was Scotty. When she arrived, we both looked at her and were like, ‘She looks like a Scottie.’ It’s nice to keep that name alive.”
Davidson clarified that he has not yet figured out how he plans to explain his father’s death to his daughter.
“Luckily, I have some time,” the King of Staten Island star said. “Honestly, this year is way harder than it’s been in a really long time because I have Scottie, and now I’m the age that my dad was when he died. So I’m just kind of like, ‘Holy s***.’”
However, he added that he’s looking forward to telling her about him. “I have old videos and pictures and stuff, and I’m excited to share the classic stories I have of him with her,” he said.
Scott had been dispatched to the World Trade Center after a second hijacked plane hit the south tower.
Davidson was seven and his younger sister Casey was three when their father died trying to save lives.
In a 2023 interview with Jon Bernthal on his Real Ones podcast, Davidson revealed he found out his father had died from a television broadcast.
“I had no idea,” he continued, while recalling how his mother had told him he was “grounded” and “not allowed to watch TV”.
“And I was like: ‘What? Like, I didn’t do anything,’” he said of his confusion. “And then one night I turned on the TV and I just saw my dad on TV, and they’re like: ‘These are all the firemen that are dead.’”
According to Davidson, who said he then talked to his mother about what he’d seen, it was “weird” because “we didn’t know he was dead for like three weeks.
“They were finding people, you know? They were pulling people out and there was just some sort of hope and it was just up and down and nobody knew how to deal with it,” Davidson remembered.
Davidson and late-night host Jon Stewart will take the stage at Madison Square Garden on September 10 for “NYC Still Rising After 25 Years: A 9/11 Comedy Benefit.” The event will raise money for organizations supporting the first responders affected by the attacks and their families.
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