Pete Davidson reportedly spent eye-watering amount on 'years-long' tattoo removal as he makes sobriety admission

Pete Davidson has opened up about why he's decided to remove his tattoos, a process that has reportedly cost him thousands of dollars.

The Saturday Night Live alum is known for his variety of colourful and even controversial tattoos, but now he’s getting rid.

Having been thrown into the spotlight during his many high-profile relationships with a number of extremely successful and good-looking women, Davidson’s appearance has always been a hot topic on everyone’s lips.

There was even a time when people were calling out the Kardashian clan for being in their ‘skinny tattooed men’ phase as Kim Kardashian dated Davidson, Kourtney Kardashian shacked up with and then married Travis Barker and Kylie Jenner got into a relationship with (a not-so-tattooed) Timothée Chalamet.

Pete Davidson has been making a change (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

Davidson's tattoos have always been something that, as the public, we’ve gotten used to and it’s even added to the appeal that a lot of women find when looking at him.

But the 31-year-old comedian has been undergoing a transformation and getting his body art removed.

“He just woke up one day and wanted them gone, and it’s been a years-long process,” a source told People.

However, it’s reportedly not just because of the aesthetics.

A second source went on to claim that Davidson ‘has been sober since September, and gained twenty pounds’.

They added: “Things are going really well for him. Things are heading in the right direction, and he’s receiving excellent reviews for the movie.”

The sources went on to reveal the whopping amount of money he allegedly spent to remove his tattoos - approximately $200,000 (£161,300).

Davidson's animated new movie, Dog Man, was released to US theatres yesterday (31 January) and he stars alongside Isla Fisher and Ricky Gervais.

However, during the press tour, Davidson explained that it’s not as easy to remove your ink as you’d think.

He reportedly spent $200,000 on removing his tattoos (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

"It’s pretty terrible, so if anybody out there is watching and thinking about getting a tattoo, make sure you really want to get it," he told Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin on Today. "It’s pretty gone."

Having begun removing them in 2020, Davidson said that getting sober was the motivation he needed to realise that he wanted to change.

He explained: "I got sober and I saw myself in the mirror and I was like, ‘Nah. Who that?' I was like, 'I got to change it up a little bit.'"

In July last year, he checked into a wellness facility, and previously sought help over his PTSD and borderline personality disorder the year before.

But it seems his tattoos became somewhat of a hindrance to his characters in some films.

In May 2021, the actor told Late Night with Seth Meyers: "I honestly never thought that I would get an opportunity to act and I love it a lot. It takes like three hours - you have to get there like three hours earlier - to cover all your tattoos. For some reason, people in movies, they don't have them that much."

Having told People that he hopes to be finished by 30, Davidson currently has overstepped by a year - but he’s on the journey and that’s all that counts.