Pete Davidson says he got 'death threat' for dating Ariana Grande

"Saturday Night Live" comic Pete Davidson says his engagement to singer-actress Ariana Grande has resulted in a death threat over the disparity in their physical appearances.

"Yeah, like, I got a death threat," the 24-year-old comedian said Monday on Howard Stern's SiriusXM radio show. "Someone wanted to shoot me in the face because she's so hot. You know how insane that is? I was like, 'Am I that ugly that you want to shoot me in the face?' "

Timing, he believes, was key to him and Grande, also 24, becoming involved. "We both were in a similar situation at the same time," Davidson said, referring to their respective prior breakups. He credits Grande's manager, Scooter Braun, for arranging for the two to meet after Braun learned of her interest in the comedian following her 2016 appearance on "SNL.” Davidson went to Grande's apartment to play the party game Quiplash with the singer and several of her friends, thinking "Just, like, 'Maybe she'll just be my friend. . . . That'd be cool, I'd have a really hot friend.' "

Stern suggested Davidson's sense of humor won her over. "I don't know what it was, but . . . I hope I don't wake up," the comedian said. He recalled, "I had to ask her friend if it was OK if I stayed. I was, like, 'Hey, I should leave, right? She really hates me, right?' . . . [The friend] was like, 'No, I think you should stay.' " When the group eventually finished the game, "Everybody left and then it was just me and her, and I was, like, 'Well, if there was ever a shot, it would be now.' "

Davidson mused to Stern, "I just think some people are meant to be together and some people aren't." But he wanted to make sure. "Before we started dating, I literally went through a list . . . of really hot guys on the internet, and I was, like, 'Are you sure? Here's all of One Direction.' "

The comic marveled that, "Anytime we're intimate I'm always apologizing and saying thank you. I swear to God, I'm like, 'You're awesome for doing this, thank you so much.' I'm so grateful that she touches me." He said it felt like a virtual-reality fantasy. "It's like I'm wearing V.R. glasses, I told her. It's insane. It's nuts."
Davidson also spoke of rehab that prompted him to stop smoking marijuana for three months. He learned, he said, that his addiction issues were about things other than marijuana, and added, "I have Crohn's, so it helps more than you can imagine, but I also love smoking weed." He added of the disease, "I'm good now. I'm in remission."

"Saturday Night Live" begins its 44th season Saturday at 11:30 p.m. on WNBC/4.