Kanye West at Coachella 2019. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

Arts and Entertainment

Breaking down the Kanye West and Pete Davidson saga

Drama, whether we love it or hate it; we are all enticed to have a say in it or you can be like me and just grab a bucket of cookies and watch it unfold. It’s no doubt that the internet will be the battleground of the future, not like in “Star Wars” but on…
<a href="https://highschool.latimes.com/author/agustincarlos722/" target="_self">Carlos Merlo</a>

Carlos Merlo

May 26, 2022

Drama, whether we love it or hate it; we are all enticed to have a say in it or you can be like me and just grab a bucket of cookies and watch it unfold. It’s no doubt that the internet will be the battleground of the future, not like in “Star Wars” but on social media itself.

We’ve seen it before — accounts being deleted, fans storming into their enemy’s DM’s and comment sections. It truly is chaos as if it were an actual war, except the fighters are a bunch of die-hard fans and Twitter users.

That is the way I see it. People will take up sides with people they consider idols and it’s just an absolute mess of people arguing and so on.

I would like to go into detail on another thing, an example of this war ravaging the internet that seems to be having a ceasefire following certain events but it’s still fresh in the minds of people: The Ye and Pete Davidson Situation.

Before we dive down into the juicy stuff, let me take you back to 2014.

This was the year Kanye “Ye” West married Kim Kardashian and their relationship was the talk of the town. They were the perfect couple, nothing could go wrong, right?

Well, after a long successful relationship and four kids at hand, many started to notice that their long relationship was coming to a close. Kim finally filed for divorce against her husband, which was accepted on March 2. No one saw it coming and people accepted that the reality tv star was no longer with the singer.

But like a child who can not let go of his pacifier, Kanye wouldn’t quit fussing about it. He continued to fight back for Kim´s love but was shocked to find that Kim had finally moved on with a new man. A man no one on this planet expected. That man was Pete Davidson.

Who is Pete Davidson? 

Davidson is known for many things. Famous for his SNL skits, for being the notorious celebrity crush of Olivia Rodrigo, for his complicated relationship with Miley Cyrus and now dating Kim; a truly mediocre man winning at life, truly making men worldwide envious of his such accomplishments, everyone including Kanye.

Davidson was suspected to be in a relationship with Kim in 2021 following months after the divorce as photos online began to circulate the internet, displaying sightings of them at amusement parks and such. It was revealed that they were together soon after in November.

Kanye did not take this well and that’s when it began. 

Most of you are wondering by now if Ye ever met Davidson himself and there was one occasion that took place in January which was before all this drama happened. It happened to be at a dinner for rapper Kid Cudi and there was no hostility at the time cause Kim was still with Ye at the time.

Davidson paid for the meal beforehand to celebrate his friend and even though Ye ordered food that wasn’t on the menu and some more guests arrived which meant more spending. Davidson didn’t mind and told Jimmy Fallon he had fun and even commented saying: “Kanye and Kim, Cutest couple ever.”

Now let’s go back to 2018 when Kanye went on SNL and pulled the most terrible stunt that even his fans were against.

To add context, Ariana Grande canceled at the last moment so Kanye came in and sang some songs, and participated in the interview, the typical process except that he was wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat. After performing, he spoke about his political opinions on stage. It didn’t get aired, but he was recorded and those clips made it online so his fans and others, in general, began to show their disappointment and even anger toward the artist.

It wasn’t just Kanye’s fault. There is little to blame SNL for inviting him during such a time of uncertainty, but it all comes down to show business. Some noticeable faces were watching in the back, Kid Cudi and Davidson were there at the time listening to the artist rant about his views and such and they stood there awkwardly.

Later on, Davidson went on to express what he thought about the situation and he was quite disappointed in Kanye. Regarding the hat, Davidson said: “I would have suggested that it might upset some people like your wife or every Black person ever.” In other words, he wanted to intervene in the situation but couldn’t.

Also, I would like to mention that he also called out Kanye for bragging that he didn’t take his medication for his mental health. The actor told him to take it because Davidson does and he feels great. Also, he said that not taking them is no excuse to act like such a jerk. It’s believed that Kanye didn’t see this right away but eventually did find out about it, later on. In February, Kanye wrote on Instagram: “Hi Skete, you got any more mental health jokes for me?”

Years later, in October 2021, Kanye expressed his hurt after seeing a skit where Davidson and Kim were dressed as Aladdin and Princess Jasmine and Kim kissed him. To add context, the heartbroken man visits SNL to see his wife partake in whatever skits she comes out on and after seeing this one, Kanye said: This is for anybody that’s going through a separation. People intentionally do things to be mean and to hurt you and they be playing games, and culturally it’s OK. How are you gonna bring me to SNL and kiss the dude you dating right in front of me?”

That is when things began to take a turn for the worse.

It did get worse, Kanye’s new song “Eazy” debuted on January 14 with a Kanye lyric saying: “God saved me from that crash / Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass (Who?).”

Now honestly, Davidson knows to ignore the rapper’s antics, that is not what he’s afraid of, it’s the fans that worry him. Most will call this a coward’s move but it was more than necessary; Davidson had to get tighter security. This wasn’t Pete’s first time appearing or being mentioned in a song lyric, his ex, who happens to be Ariana Grande, had mentioned him multiple times in her songs as well.

“Eazy” was just one example. In a collab track with Fivio Foreign “City of Gods,” Kanye raps: “This afternoon, a hundred goons pullin’ up to SNL (What?) / When I pull up, it’s dead on arrival.”

Kanye really doesn’t stop there in this fight. He got a few stars on the battlefield which shows that he is causing this drama to rise to a bigger issue. Jake Paul even wanted to host a boxing match between the two.

Kid Cudi was affected by this too. His friendship with Davidson was swell and dandy, but Kanye just wouldn’t stop hating. Kanye announced on his media platforms that his friend will not be having a role in his new album “Donda” just for his friendship with Davidson. Cudi, of course, blew this off and just didn’t care. Later on, Kanye shows a picture of the three men with Davidson crossed out on Instagram with a caption stating that he has been betrayed.

After this situation occurred on February 13, he posted a poster of the movie “Captain America: Civil War” but with the faces of others involved in the drama. On the Kanye side, we have people such as Julia Fox, Travis Scott, Drake and Future. On Davidson’s side, we have Kim, Kid Cudi, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift.

Since when did they get involved?

The post on social media was also the birth of a terrible meme and an insulting nickname for Pete. “Skete” was a terrible nickname. The artists mentioned above are not alone. Remember when it was stated that Grande was Davidson’s ex. Well, Kanye was at it again back claiming that when Davidson was with Grande, he sent photos to Grande’s other ex, Mac Miller. These claims are still debated at the moment but it is revealed to be likely false. Ariana Grande’s brother, Frankie Grande stated that at this point he isn’t surprised at the stuff Kanye is capable of doing, and oh boy he is right on that.

Eventually, fears of the beef getting physical were arising. Kanye posted on his account stating that Kim told him to stop the hate. Kim later messaged Kanye asking why he came out and posted what she said to him. Kanye responded by saying that he got a message from the person he loves and wanted to share it with everyone.

The last straw came when the song “Eazy” had a stop motion animation that clearly depicted Davidson in a very grotesque situation and the ending in the song said: “Everyone lived happily ever after except Skete / JK He’s fine.”

At this point, people were actually concerned instead of being invested in the conflict. James Gunn, director of the Suicide Squad, came out to support Davidson along with Kim. At this point, it had gone too far and something had to be done so Davidson stepped in. 

We know this happens because Kanye posted a discussion thread with Davidson regarding his kids. Davidson writes he won’t stand in the way of Kanye and his kids, and that he hopes to be friends with them. But, Kanye has stated that he will not like that at all.

The next time they texted, Davidson seemed to have finally burst, saying in the now-deleted texts that he will no longer stand for this, that what Kanye is doing is affecting many including his family and that he should understand the severity of the situation and that he should grow up. Davidson even offered to help Kanye with his mental health and asked if they could meet one on one. Ye invited him to Sunday service, after that the storm calmed. 

As of now, this situation is still ongoing, but we can just hope things resolve before it goes wrong.