Pete Davidson faces criticism over fatherhood joke during Las Vegas stand-up set

Pete Davidson has faced criticism after a joke about fatherhood during a recent stand-up performance prompted negative reactions online.

The comedian, who recently became a father, made the remarks during a live show at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas on April 11.

While discussing his break from performing, he told the audience: “I haven’t done stand-up in 5 months because I just had a baby; it’s a lot of fun,” before adding: “[I] got a little girl. It’s weird having a little girl. It’s hard to watch porn … in front of her.” He then followed the comment with: “I still did. I power through.”

Clips and reports from the performance circulated on social media, where users criticised the nature of the joke and its subject matter. Several posts described the remarks as inappropriate, with some questioning the decision to link fatherhood with explicit humour.

One user wrote, “This is screaming all level[s] of creepy,” while another commented, “Why would you associate porn with your daughter? Those are two different things.”

The reaction stands in contrast to Davidson’s previous public comments about becoming a parent.

Following the birth of his daughter in December 2025 with partner Elsie Hewitt, he described the experience positively in an interview. “Nothing else matters as much or intensely, like career, activities, hanging out with people [or] what do people think of me,” he said at the time, calling parenthood “the biggest gift”.