Nostalgia: Then & Now · Betty Harlan · 1 October 2026

Pete Davidson talking exes: Kim, Ariana, Ye, and the fallout

Pete Davidson talking exes: Kim, Ariana, Ye, and the fallout

Pete Davidson talking exes landed him back in the viral spotlight after Variety interviews published Sept. 30. The comedian reflected on Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande, described Ye's harassment with surprising sympathy, mocked influencer culture, and defended AI use on his upcoming film Bitcoin—prompting mixed reactions across social media.

Key Takeaways

For readers who track celebrity arcs the way some people track sitcom reunions, this moment sits neatly in our Nostalgia: Then & Now lane—same familiar names, a newer cultural fight over influencers and AI.

What did Pete Davidson say about his famous exes?

According to Mashable's report on the Variety cover story, Davidson had kind words for both Kim Kardashian and Ariana Grande—and a sharper tone for the noise around them.

He and Kardashian began dating after an October 2021 Saturday Night Live kiss sketch, while she was divorcing Ye (formerly Kanye West). They split in August 2022. Davidson still framed the relationship with affection, saying there is still love there.

"I'm one of the survivors — the few and the proud. We're like the Marines," he joked about men who have dated Kardashians.

He said Kardashian respected his boundaries, but constant attention and security became overwhelming while he was dealing with mental health and substance use issues. That framing drew online criticism. Some users accused him of casting himself as a victim. One reaction Mashable highlighted: "There he goes crying again, nobody made you date her."

On Grande—whom he dated and was briefly engaged to in 2018—Davidson was warmer still. "I think Ariana's fuckin' cool and immensely talented and an awesome girl," he said. "We're not texting or whatever, but we're cool."

Asked about scrutiny of her appearance, he pushed back hard. "I don't like it at all. It's not cool. She's a really strong person — I've witnessed it — and I don't understand it," he said, adding that she knows how to handle it and will be okay, while calling the pile-on "fucked up."

He also joked that there should be a support group for men like him and Jake Gyllenhaal who become subjects of famous breakup songs. (Gyllenhaal is widely linked to Taylor Swift's "All Too Well.")

How did he describe Ye's harassment—and why the sympathy?

Ye targeted Davidson on Instagram in 2022 and released an "Eazy" music video depicting a claymation version of the comedian being kidnapped and beheaded. Davidson told Variety that the cruelty hit harder because of his openness about mental health.

"What tripped me out is I was super open about mental stuff — everyone knows this about me — and it's like he was [saying], 'Kill yourself.' And he did push me," Davidson said.

He joked that whoever Kardashian dated first would have faced Ye's wrath: "I cleared the path for her to get back into the dating pool."

Despite that history, he offered surprising empathy. "He's also lost a parent and has mental stuff, and I don't know how he deals with it or who he has around him," Davidson said. He argued Ye was trying to push people away, concluding: "There's zero way he really feels like that."

That mix—graphic recounting plus mercy—is part of why pete davidson talking exes clips traveled so fast. It is not a clean villain-hero story; it is messy, personal, and ready-made for quote cards.

Why did his influencer comments and AI defense blow up?

In Variety's accompanying "Ask a Local" video, Davidson mocked "get ready with me" clips and TikTok dances. "Girls are just talking to themselves on there, and they're like, 'OK, come get ready with me,' and I'm like, 'Who the fuck are you? What do you do?' Nothing. What the fuck is this?"

He claimed creators make "$40 million a year" without naming anyone, and declared that "the world's broken." Creators pushed back hard. Hayley Kalil wrote that he "does the same thing, just for a TV camera instead of a phone camera." In Variety's Instagram comments, Claudia Oshry (@girlwithnojob) asked: "But he literally does nothing and also makes $40M....??"

Oti Mabuse added: "Imagine dating the biggest influencer of all time and still having these thoughts?" Creator @wellwithraele questioned why the criticism focused on women, arguing that if men dominated the influencer industry, "no one would care or have any qualms about a single thing."

Others agreed with the sentiment. Mashable cited fans saying "Pete Davidson said what everyone else was thinking," and another calling it the "right message, wrong messenger."

Davidson also defended AI used for locations in Doug Liman's upcoming thriller Bitcoin, saying it helped the production avoid extensive travel. "We were trying to shoot a $250 million movie," he said. Mashable notes TheWrap reported the film actually cost $70 million and used AI for settings and lighting.

He stressed the production still employed a full crew and extras: "None of our performances are AI or being altered or anything." Cost-saving talk did not win everyone over. One user called it "the least appealing movie of all time." Another said learning about AI meant they would skip "the Gal Gadot/Pete Davidson Bitcoin movie after all."

What does this moment say about then versus now?

A few years ago, Davidson's public narrative was mostly tabloid romance: SNL kiss, paparazzi walks, tattoo lore, and high-profile breakups. The Variety package shows the same cast of characters—Kardashian, Grande, Ye—filtered through 2026 culture wars over creators, mental health language, and AI on film sets.

That is why pete davidson talking exes feels bigger than gossip. The quotes reheat old headlines while attaching them to arguments people are already having about who deserves money, empathy, and artistic legitimacy.

Whether you side with Davidson, the creators who clapped back, or the skeptics of AI sets, the through-line is familiar: celebrity candor still travels fastest when it names famous exes—and then keeps talking.

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