Maybe call it big Photoshop energy.
Last week, social media was abuzz with the news that Pete Davidson — who at one point had over 200 tattoos — was officially ink-free. The “receipts” came in the form of a Reformation campaign in which the “Saturday Night Live” alum was shirtless, and appeared to have successfully removed all his body art.
The “King of Staten Island” star has been in the process of removing his tattoos for a few years now, and talked about his decision to do so on a 2021 episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
Being that Davidson has been linked to his ink for the past few years, social media users on X, formerly Twitter, had mixed feelings on his new look.
But on Sunday’s “SNL 50” special, Davidson appeared in a pre-taped sketch in which he essentially got naked, revealing that he still — at least, at the time this was filmed — has numerous tattoos etched all over his torso.
In the skit, called “Chad in 8H,” Davidson revisits his apathetic and overly chill character “Chad” who accompanies original “SNL” cast member Laraine Newman as she takes a nostalgic stroll through the legendary variety show’s studio.
At one point in the sketch, Newman tells Chad that back when she started on the show in 1975, she “would have been all over you.”
This remark prompts Davidson’s Chad to take off all his clothes, revealing that Davidson still has tats all over his stomach and chest. His tattoos on his arms and shoulders seem to be fading, or almost entirely gone, however.
It’s unclear when Davidson and Newman’s “SNL 50” sketch was filmed or when his Reformation photos were shot. But Davidson has been photographed within the past six months with tattoos still visible on his arms — and in the Reformation ads, all his tattoos appear to be gone.
HuffPost has reached out to Davidson and Reformation for clarity.
Davidson has also recently made some comments that seem to indicate that he’s not entirely ink-free just yet.
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In January, Davidson told Jimmy Fallon on the “Tonight Show” that tattoo removal is a long and painful process.
“It’s horrible,” Davison told Fallon at the time. “They have to burn off a layer of your skin, and then it has to heal for six to eight weeks, and you can’t get in the sunlight. And then you gotta do it, like, 12 more times.”
Davidson, who is currently 31 years old, also told Seth Meyers earlier this month that he likely won’t be entirely tattoo-free until he’s 40 and that it takes “at least seven visits” to fully get rid of just one tattoo.