Pete Davidson Explains Why He Hates His "Big D*ck Energy" Label

Back in 2018, Pete Davidson had become an inescapable pop culture fixture. There were a few reasons for his sudden overexposure: he was engaged to one of the most famous pop stars in the world, he was considered the breakout star of Saturday Night Live, and he unwittingly became the poster child for the year’s buzziest piece of internet lingo. While “big d*ck energy” — or simply “BDE” — isn’t used as often these days, it was the cornerstone of memes, thinkpieces, and dating apps all thanks to Davidson’s charisma. The term is meant to be a compliment, but now Davidson is sharing why he hated being so publicly sexualized during that time.

Davidson’s connection to BDE originated during his relationship with Ariana Grande, after the pop star cheekily posted about the size of her boyfriend’s package. From there, the term became a cultural touchstone, and one that Davidson did not appreciate.

“I was embarrassed by it because... no one talked about any work I was doing,” Davidson said during his Aug. 13 appearance on The Breakfast Club podcast. "They were just like, 'Oh, that's the f*ck stick.' And that hurt so much."

The comedian struggled to decipher why he was being singled out in this way, admitting that the attention made him self-conscious of his looks. “Why are they focusing on me? I'm just like this dude that tells d*ck jokes and is a drug addict,” Davidson said, guessing that the BDE phrase only blew up because he’s "not Glen Powell handsome."

He also had an issue with the double standard he felt by being so overtly sexualized as a man in a way that would clearly not be acceptable for a woman. "I don’t want to victimize myself in any way because I’m cool, but the sexualization of me — if that was a girl, people would be like, there would be a march for it,” Davidson said. “Seriously. You're just talking about my d*ck all day.”