Fatherhood has transformed Pete Davidson from a laidback joker into an overprotective bodyguard, according to the comedian himself.
The Saturday Night Live veteran said that since he and his girlfriend Elsie Hewitt welcomed their daughter, Scottie Rose, in December, he has been surprised by what he calls his “primal” instincts.
“It's funny. It's like I didn't understand this. You're just ready to fight anyone. It’s really funny," Davidson, 32, told People in an interview published Monday.
“It's like, chill out. No one's doing anything to your kid... But you have this overly protective like...if one paparazzi guy pops out I'm going to f***ing beat the living s*** out of him. So that's a weird gear because I'm not a fighter guy,” he continued.
He explained: “But you develop this like, 'Is that person looking at my baby? What are you looking at?' You're very, very hyper aware. But I guess that goes back to caveman times, you know? It's very...what do they say? It's like primal?”
Davidson said that the urge to fight for his daughter surprised him, but other than that, he is mostly enjoying “cute stuff” about fatherhood with Hewitt, including dressing his daughter in baby clothes.
The actor’s recent remarks come years after he said in a 2022 interview that becoming a father was his ultimate dream, calling himself “definitely a family guy.”
“It would be so fun to dress up a little dude,” he said at the time. “I’m so excited for that chapter.”
Hewitt, an actor and model, and Davidson announced their expanding family last year on social media shortly after making their relationship public, with 30-year-old Hewitt joking on Instagram: “welp now everyone knows we had sex.”
Davidson previously opened up about feeling guilty for bringing extra attention to Hewitt during her pregnancy, saying on a radio show last July: “Anything I do or she does now is gonna be a thing.”
He said on the iHeart Radio Show at the time: “She’s never made me feel this way or said anything, but I feel so guilty and horrible that I could not allow her to have the ideal pregnancy that almost every woman gets to have and enjoy.”
Scottie Rose Hewitt Davidson was born December 12, with the new parents announcing the birth on Hewitt’s Instagram page via a carousel of pictures.
"My best work yet, I am absolutely overflowing with love and gratitude and disbelief," Hewitt captioned the post. "Wu tang forever," Davidson added.
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