Pete Davidson Explains Why He's Stepping Away From the Spotlight

Pete Davidson has been keeping a noticeably lower profile in recent months, and as it turns out, it was indeed a calculated move on his part. A string of high-profile relationships with women such as Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian caused the 31-year-old to become tabloid fodder, but now he says he's learned from his mistakes and no longer wants to be known as a "loser who just dates people."

Speaking with W Magazine about his new partnership with the sock brand, Doublesoul, Davidson admits that he was "oversaturated" and is now being more strategic about the projects he takes on, whether it's a movie or fashion collaboration.

"I was oversaturated," he told the publication. "In The Sopranos, there’s this line from Tony that’s like, ‘You ever feel like you got into something at the end? When the good times were over?’ That’s how I feel about show business and being a celebrity. It’s over."

"When you’re first coming up, and getting all these offers, it’s hard to say no, because you’re hungry," the Saturday Night Live alum continued. "I made the mistake of doing literally everything. Now I’m older and wiser, and I’m realizing that less is more. Like Christian Bale. He does one movie every two, three years, but you go f--king see it. Leo does one movie every four years, but it’s the biggest thing in the world. It’s because you miss them. People have to miss you."

Davidson was conducting the interview from his new home in a remote wooded area outside of New York City, far from the watchful eyes of the paparazzi. He jokes that "luckily," he got "hit on the face with the Hollywood shovel." However, he says the reckoning was a long time coming and that he needed it.

"I’m very happy where I am right now, mentally. I just want to be known for doing good work. I want to be out there only when it’s movie, stand-up, charity, or business ventures," he explained. "That’s when I want to be seen. I don’t want to be this f--king loser who just dates people. That’s not who I am."

Davidson noted that "people hate celebrities now," and theorized that every couple of years, the media takes a handful of celebrities with the intention of destroying them.

"For some reason, I’m one of the people they chose to go after. It’s actually, in a way, a blessing, because it allowed me to take a step back and evaluate things," he continued. "What do you want to be? Who are you? I’m someone who is from Staten Island, wanted to do stand-up, and if I got to do anything else because of stand-up, it was a miracle."

In other words, we can all expect to see less of Davidson going forward. That said, he does have a handful of upcoming projects in the works, such as Riff Raff, co-starring Ed Harris, Bill Murray, and Jennifer Coolidge, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and is expected to be released theatrically next year.