Pete Davidson explains why anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks will be 'extra tough'
With this week marking 25 years since the September 11 terror attack, Pete Davidson has opened up about his complicated relationship with the anniversary, admitting this year's milestone will be particularly difficult.
The New York-born comedian was just seven years old when the quadruple aeroplane hijackings changed his life forever.
His father, NYFD firefighter Scott Davidson, was among the 2,977 people killed that day after responding to both World Trade Centre towers collapsing to the ground, after each being struck by commercial jets that had been taken over by al-Qaeda terrorists.
Davidson - who continued living in New York in the aftermath of the attacks - has spent the years since speaking candidly about the loss of his dad.
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The Saturday Night Live alum previously admitted that his father's death isn't something he necessarily leads with when meeting people, telling Maxim: "I don’t let a lot of people know about my dad dying on 9/11. It’s not a way to introduce yourself."
He's also found several ways of honouring Scott's memory, including through his famous '8418' tattoo - his father's firefighter badge number.
Now, the funny-man is approaching the anniversary from a perspective he couldn't possibly have understood as a child for two gut-wrenching reason.
Firstly, he's recently become a father himself, and secondly, Davidson is now the same age his dad was when he died.
Speaking to the New York Post this week, 32-year-old looked back: "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."
Davidson, who turns 33 in November, said the realisation has made this year's anniversary 'extra tough'.
"But also extra beautiful because I get to spend the day with Scottie," he said of his daughter, whom he welcomed with model girlfriend Elsie Hewitt earlier this year. "It’ll be very healing and special."
The couple chose to name their baby girl after Davidson's father, telling press that, when she was born, he and Hewitt looked at her and thought, 'She looks like a Scottie'.
"It was really cool that Elsie also wanted to name her Scottie," he explained. "My dad’s name was Scott, but his nickname was Scotty."
Davidson claimed he quickly observed another touching connection between his daughter and the grandfather she'll never get to meet.
He revealed that a photograph of Scott hangs above the sink where he used to bathe Scottie, and she would regularly stare at it.
"I don’t know what I believe in, but I like to think that his presence is somehow around," Davidson admitted.
He went on to confess, however, that he doesn't yet know how he'll explain 9/11 to his daughter when she's old enough to understand what happened.
For now, he said, he has time to work out how to tell her about the tragedy, and the man she was named after.
"I’m excited to share the classic stories I have of him with her," he said.
Topics: Pete Davidson, Celebrity, US News
Rhianna Benson