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Pete Davidson has spoken about losing his father on September 11 for much of his adult life, sometimes seriously and sometimes through comedy. Becoming a father himself has changed the way he understands what happened.<\/p>\n
Davidson was seven when his father, New York City firefighter Scott Matthew Davidson, died while responding to the World Trade Center attacks. \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh, he was an old guy. He\u2019s 33,\u2019\u201d Davidson told the New York Post<\/a>. \u201cBut now I\u2019m there, and I have a kid, and that would be like my kid not having her dad.\u201d<\/p>\n Davidson is 32 and turns 33 in November, putting him close to the age his father was when he died. His daughter, Scottie Rose Hewitt Davidson, was born in December 2025 and was named after the grandfather she will never meet.<\/p>\n That combination made the 25th anniversary especially difficult. Davidson said this year felt \u201cway harder\u201d than it had in a long time, but also \u201cextra beautiful\u201d because he would spend September 11 with Scottie. \u201cIt\u2019ll be very healing and special,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Scott Davidson was 33 when he died and had been an FDNY firefighter since 1994. He worked with Ladder Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights and responded after the second hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation<\/a> remembers him as a father who coached Pete in football and baseball, watched daughter Casey\u2019s dance recitals and frequently called firefighting \u201cthe greatest job in America.\u201d<\/p>\n For Pete, his father\u2019s age looks different now that he is raising a child himself. What sounded old to a seven-year-old no longer resembles a long life as he approaches 33 and thinks about everything Scott lost with two young children at home.<\/p>\n Davidson has not decided exactly how he will explain September 11 to Scottie when she is old enough to understand what happened. He said he has time before that conversation becomes necessary and has kept photographs, videos and stories that can eventually introduce her to the man whose name she carries.<\/p>\n Davidson and Scottie\u2019s mother, Elsie Hewitt, agreed on the name before their daughter was born on December 12, 2025. Scott was his father\u2019s name, while his friends knew him as Scotty.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really cool that Elsie also wanted to name her Scottie,\u201d Davidson said. When their daughter arrived, he said they looked at her and agreed that the name suited her. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to keep that name alive.\u201d<\/p>\n He has also noticed Scottie repeatedly looking at a photograph of his father. When she was a newborn and they bathed her in the sink, a picture of Scott hung nearby and regularly caught her attention. Davidson initially assumed she was simply staring at whatever happened to be in front of her.<\/p>\n After moving the photograph to another part of the home, Davidson said Scottie continued turning her head toward it when he carried her through the room. \u201cI don\u2019t know what I believe in,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I like to think that his presence is somehow around.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Davidson has taken a visible role in the 25th anniversary commemorations. He appeared in 9\/11 Day\u2019s UNIITE for Good campaign<\/a>, which encourages people to honor those killed in the attacks through service and acts of kindness.<\/p>\n On September 10, Davidson joined Jon Stewart, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Nikki Glaser, Aziz Ansari and other comedians at Madison Square Garden for NYC Still Rising After 25 Years<\/a>, a comedy benefit supporting organizations that serve 9\/11 first responders and their families.<\/p>\n Davidson said he wanted the event to offer families another way to experience a date that often brings an unavoidable return of horrific images and documentaries. \u201cWe want to reclaim the day and just have fun,\u201d he said, rather than spend another anniversary surrounded entirely by material that forces survivors and relatives to relive the attacks.<\/p>\n He also criticized the way 9\/11 has become material for online memes among people too young to remember it. Davidson acknowledged that many people sincerely mark the anniversary even without a personal connection, but said the experience is different for families who have carried its consequences for 25 years.<\/p>\nFatherhood Changed What 33 Means to Davidson<\/h2>\n
Scottie Already Carries Her Grandfather\u2019s Name<\/h2>\n
Davidson Wants to Mark 9\/11 With More Than Grief<\/h2>\n
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His Memories of Scott Are Still About Ordinary Things<\/h2>\n