The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 hold a special meaning for actor and comedian Pete Davidson.
He was only a little kid on the fateful day that has triggered decades of American decline — and claimed the life of his father, Scott, who was just 33.
Now, Pete is about to turn 33 himself in two months. He is also now a father.
25 years after the fact, he’s struggling to figure out how he’ll one day explain the tragedy to his daughter.
Pete Davidson is about to be the same age as his father was on 9/11
Pete Davidson spoke to The New York Post just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
His father, Scott, was a New York City firefighter with Ladder Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights.
“I thought, ‘Oh, he was an old guy. He’s 33,’” Pete shared, partially in jest.
(Many Millennials grew up believing that 30 was much older than it actually is, in part due to the habits of previous generations — from tanning to smoking to having children at younger ages.)
“But now I’m there, and I have a kid,” Pete reasoned, “and that would be like my kid not having her dad.”
The question Pete Davidson will never forget being asked after his father's death…
— Netflix (@netflix) March 6, 2026
The next episode of The Pete Davidson Show, a new video podcast, featuring Denis Leary is now on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/efMCfbjGK0
This is, in fact, Pete’s first 9/11 as a father. He turns 33 in November.
“So this year is extra tough,” Pete acknowledged.
“But also extra beautiful,” he affirmed, “because I get to spend the day with Scottie.”
Yes, the daughter he welcomed with Elsie Hewitt last December is named after his father.
“It’ll be very healing and special,” Pete anticipated.
‘Luckily, I have some time’ before she asks about her late grandfather
Pete Davidson and Elsie Hewitt ended up splitting just 5 months after Scottie was born. However, they found a lot of common ground before that.
“It was really cool that Elsie also wanted to name her Scottie,” he expressed.
“My dad’s name was Scott, but his nickname was Scotty,” Pete shared.
“When she arrived,” he recalled, “we both looked at her and were like, ‘She looks like a Scottie.’”
Pete added: “It’s nice to keep that name alive.”
ironically, the whole Riyadh Comedy Festival has given me a worse opinion of every one of those comedians except Pete Davidson. there's something to be said for without shame demanding, "you guys kinda killed my dad, I'm gonna need $2 million for an hour's work."
— Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) (@iwriteok.bsky.social) October 2, 2025 at 3:34 PM
According to Pete, Scottie has already shown a sort of fascination with his father’s portrait. “I don’t know what I believe in,” he admitted, “but I like to think that his presence is somehow around.”
Though he has not figured out how to explain the tragedy, or his father’s heroic death, he remembers that “luckily, I have some time” before talking his 10-month-old through the events of 9/11.
“Honestly, this year is way harder than it’s been in a really long time because I have Scottie,” Pete reflected. “And now I’m the age that my dad was when he died. So I’m just kind of like, ‘Holy s–t.’”
Obviously, Pete experienced his father’s death from his own perspective. Now he can more keenly imagine what it must be like to rush into danger to save lives, knowing that you might never see your child again.
On a brighter note, he added: “I have old videos and pictures and stuff, and I’m excited to share the classic stories I have of him with her.”
