Pete Davidson Dating Up

About

Pete Davidson Dating Up refers to SNL cast member and stand-up comedian Pete Davidson dating women who many online debate are "out of his league." The trend first started in May 2018 when Davidson began dating pop-musician Ariana Grande and later in early 2019 when he dated actor Kate Beckinsale. Interest in Davidson's ability to "date up" (a slang term for dating someone considered to be higher on the social ladder), sparked interest again online when he was seen holding hands with Kim Kardashian in late October 2021. In early August 2022, Davidson and Kardashian broke up. Their breakup inspired many Pete Davidson memes online, as well as inspired Kanye to post "Skate Davidson Dead at 28" on his Instagram. In November 2022, it was reported that Pete Davidson was dating Emily Ratajkowski.

Origin

On May 21st, 2018, E! News announced via a tweet^[1] that Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande were dating. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 1,900 likes over the course of three years. Users replied to the tweet expressing confusion, like Twitter^[2] user @liiiiiizz_ who replied "i’m so confused …." and received 72 likes.

Spread

Twitter users began to react to Davidson and Grande on Twitter in May 2018 by posting memes about their confusion. For example, Twitter^[3] user @piney61 tweeted on May 21st, 2018, with a meme regarding the strangeness of the couple and received roughly 2,400 likes over three years. Twitter^[4] user @ohJuliatweets tweeted on June 9th, 2018, relating Pete Davidson to a pile of sweatshirts. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 34,400 likes over the course of three years.

Enagagement to Ariana Grande

On June 11th, 2018, USA Today^[5] broke the news that Davidson and Grande were engaged after only 24 days of dating. The news, when tweeted^[6] by Complex Music, received roughly 7,900 likes over three years. On June 20th, 2018, Pete Davidson announced the engagement on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon whose Twitter^[7] account tweeted the clip on the same day and received roughly 66,500 likes over three years for the tweet.

Twitter users began to react to the news further by relaying the sentiment that Grande was allegedly out of Davidson's league. For instance, on June 23rd, 2018, Twitter^[8] user @chandIermonica related Davidson to "the boy who flipped his eyelids from your school." The tweet (shown below, top) received roughly 6,300 likes over three years. On June 26th, 2018, Twitter^[9] user @heavenbrat tweeted about Davidson saying "what is it with boys that look like they’re a corpse." The tweet (shown below, bottom) received roughly 2,000 likes over three years.

Additionally, after the pair's engagement was announced, the concept of Big Dick Energy began to circulate their relationship after Ariana Grande revealed in a now-deleted tweet^[10] that Davidson's penis was approximately 10 inches. This fact began to validate for some Twitter users like @EmilyGould^[11] why Grande would date and then get engaged so quickly to someone like Davidson.

The couple's engagement was later called off when the two split in October 2018. Twitter^[12] users like @fanaticgrande tweeted that they were not surprised by the split, adding to the extending consciousness that "Davidson didn't deserve her."

Antoni Next to Kate Beckinsale and Pete Davidson Kissing

On March 3rd, 2019, the game between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden in New York City, saw Pete Davidson, Kate Beckinsale and Queer Eye star Antoni photographed in attendance, later going viral and producing memes. In one picture, Beckinsale and Davidson are seen kissing while Antoni looks uncomfortable^[19] (shown below).

Among the memes using the image as a template, the viral photo of Beckinsale and Davidson further added to his perceived ability to "date up."

Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian

Holding Hands With Kim Kardashian

Internet discourse surrounding Pete Davidson dating out of his league surfaced again in October 2021 when photographs were released by People Magazine^[13] on October 30th of the two holding hands on a rollercoaster in Los Angeles — though the article stated that the two are "just friends" (photographs shown below).

On October 30th, 2021, a tweet^[14] including the photos was posted by the account @davidsonupdate and received roughly 28,300 likes over the course of three days. On the same day, Twitter^[15] user @chandIermonica quote tweeted @davidsonupdate and related dating Pete Davidson to jury duty. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 176,100 likes over the course of three days. Twitter^[16] user @thisisnotkianna also tweeted about how "unprecedented" the relationship is. Her tweet (shown below, right) received roughly 91,800 likes.

More Twitter users continued to react in the days that followed. Notable internet personalities like Hasan Piker even commented on the photographs. His tweet^[17] received roughly 20,300 likes over three days.

Twitter users also related the news of Kardashian and Davidson to Davidson's 2018 relationship with Grande. For instance, Twitter^[18] user @TatumBrownSZN sent a tweet saying "Pete Davidson’s resume is godlike." His tweet (shown below) received roughly 520 likes over two days.

Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian Dating

On November 18th, 2021, it was reported by news outlets like Daily Mail^[20] that Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian were officially together. This was stirred by images and a video of the couple holding hands outside Kardashian's home. The images (shown below) were posted to Twitter^[21] by account @saint on November 18th, where they received roughly 8,900 likes over the course of three days.

Twitter reacted to the images in the days following, posting memes and tweets about the two. Twitter users noticed and made memes about the fact that Kardashian was wearing Yeezys in the photographs, relating back to her ex Kanye West / Ye. For instance, Twitter^[22] user @eric_anthony51 tweeted on November 18th about the coincidence (shown below) and received roughly 10,000 likes over the course of four days.

More Twitter users speculated how Ye was probably feeling in response to these photos. For instance, Twitter^[23] user @DahliaZahava posted a tweet on November 19th, 2021, saying, "This pic alone bout to make Kanye lock himself in his room doing five beats a day for three summers." The tweet (shown below) received roughly 65,800 likes over the course of three days.

Internet users related the whole situation back to the concept of beautiful, celebrity women dating Sickly Skinny White Men. For example, Instagram^[24] account @popcultureangel posted a meme on November 19th, 2021, referencing, "skinny white boy with tattoos." The meme (shown below) received roughly 123,400 likes over the course of three days.

Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian Breakup

On August 5th, 2022, it was reported by multiple internet news outlets that Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian had broken up after nine months of dating. For instance, on August 5th, the Twitter^[25] account of RapTV tweeted the announcement, earning roughly 106,000 likes in three days (shown below). News outlet E!^[26] was the first to report on the split, stating that the two had been long-distance for a while because Pete was in Australia filming the movie Wizards! while Kardashian was home raising her children. The two decided to just be friends despite having, "a lot of love and respect for each other."

Because of the overall virality of the couple's timeline, their split inspired many memes continuing into the remainder of August 2022. For instance, on August 5th, Twitter^[27] user JodiGug3 humorously imagined what Davidson would do about getting Kardashian and her children's initials tattooed on himself. His tweet read, "Pete Davidson’s tattoo removal guy just put a down payment on another boat," and earned roughly 117,400 likes in three days (shown below, left). Also on August 5th, Twitter^[28] user laylamuntas emphasized that she was shocked despite knowing the relationship wouldn't last, earning roughly 14,600 likes in the same time period (shown below, right).

Other meme creators imagined what Kanye's reaction was to the news, referencing his imagined excitement in multiple tweets and memes. For instance, on August 5th, Twitter^[28] user Iamthetimby captioned a video of a man dancing with, "Kanye after seeing Kim and Pete Davidson broke up," earning roughly 1.6 million views and 70,100 likes in three days (shown below).

Kanye after seeing Kim and Pete Davidson broke up pic.twitter.com/o5p7jdeI7N

— Timbo 🏁 (@Iamthetimby) August 5, 2022

Memes surfaced that photoshopped Davidson alongside other memetic characters and celebrities, essentially joking about who he was dating next. For instance, on August 5th, 2022, Twitter^[30] user criminalplaza photoshopped Davidson walking next to the Queen of England, earning roughly 120,100 likes in three days (shown below, left). On August 6th, Twitter^[31] user whoresseini joked that Davidson was spotted with Kendall Roy from Succession, earning roughly 26,300 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Kanye's "Skete Davidson Dead" Instagram Post

Many creators imagined what Kanye's response to the breakup would be, however, Kanye didn't officially say anything until August 8th, 2022, when he posted on Instagram^[32] a photoshopped newspaper headline that read, "Skete Davidson Dead at 28." The post received roughly 1.7 million likes in three hours (shown below).

Pete Davidson and Emily Ratajkowski Dating

On November 14th, 2022, it was reported by Us Weekly^[33] that Pete Davidson was dating supermodel Emily Ratajkowski, also known for her role on Nickelodeon's iCarly. According to an insider, the two were in the very early stages, but both really liked each other.^[33] Ratajkowski had divorced her husband around the same time as Davidson broke up with Kardashian. Apparently, the two had been dating for some time.^[33]

On November 14th, the Twitter^[34] account of RapTV announced the development in a tweet, gaining roughly 77,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). Multiple reactions and memes surfaced in the replies to the tweet. For instance, an hour later, Twitter^[35] user HeraZeuzz captioned four images of Davidson's exes with, "Bros collecting them like they infinity stones," in reference to Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, gaining roughly 8,400 likes over the same period of time (shown below, right).

Other memetic reactions surfaced on Twitter on November 14th. For instance, Twitter^[37] user ayeejuju tweeted, "pete davidson’s rizz needs to be studied at harvard," gaining roughly 301,700 likes in less than a day (shown below, left). Twitter^[36] user xshaikhu04 captioned a photo of iCarly's Gibby (Noah Munck) on set with Ratajkowski, writing, "Pete Davidson doesn't know who hes fucking with." The tweet received roughly 73,200 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

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External References