Pete Davidson Opens Up About His Past Struggles With Depression And Suicidal Thoughts

During a recent interview, comedian and Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson opened up to CBS This Morning co-host Tony Dokoupil about his past struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts as well as the loss of his father. Davidson’s father passed away when he was only 7 years old.

Davidson is preparing for the release of a new semi-autobiographical film entitled The King of Staten Island. The 26-year-old is the co-writer of the movie — which is about a young man finding his way in life — based largely but not entirely on his own experiences. Davidson has always been candid regarding his battle with mental illness in the past as well as his experiences with loss. His father was a firefighter who died while in service in 2001 when the World Trade Center was attacked on 9/11.

Even though Davidson was very young at the time, he remembers the day of his father’s death well.

“I remember when I started to get curious, because a lot of his friends would be coming over. And he wasn’t over. I started to put two and two together that maybe something was wrong. One of my best friends is forever gone,” he recalled.

Davidson turned to comedy at a young age and soon found stardom. He earned a spot on the cast of Saturday Night Live at only 20 years old, despite being over a decade younger than the rest of the comedians on the show. Even though he found success, he continued to battle other issues in his personal life. He described himself at the time as “very self-hating” and became suicidal in 2017. When asked how close he came to actually harming himself, Davidson replied “as close as you can get.”

It was with the help of treatment that the comedian was able to take control of his mental health and get to a better place in his life.

“I mean, just, like testing the waters. And until I met the right treatments and met the right doctors and did all the work that you need to do to, like, not feel that way, it got pretty dark and scary,” he said.

The King of Staten Island is expected to address some of Davidson’s past battles with mental illness. As The Inquisitr previously reported, the comedian is greatly looking forward to the release of the film. Although it was originally expected to air in theaters, it will instead be going straight to streaming due to the closure of movie theaters as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. For readers outside the U.S., visit Suicide.org or Befrienders Worldwide for international resources you can use to find help.