Pete Davidson: PR Relationship Darling or Harmless, Hopeless Romantic?
An investigation into celebrity PR relationships 🔎
There is a long list of things you shouldn’t get me started on, one of them being the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Another is celebrity PR relationships.
The ins-and-outs of celebrity PR relationships have long fascinated me. From the likes of Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, to Rob Pattison and Kristen Stewart, Ben Affleck and J Lo (twice) to name a few. And most recently, our dearly departed Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. I apologize if I’ve shattered your heart with any of these revelations.
Perhaps it’s the hopeless romantic in me, but I’d like to think that quite a few of these relationships have produced a genuine romance. I’m not against the practice, if you will, of a PR relationship, as their beneficial to both parties and are entertaining as hell. They’ve also been in existence for decades - I was watching an interview with EGOT-winner Rita Moreno, where she mentioned she was involved in PR relationships in the 1950s and 60s.
So how do we identify a PR relationship? It’s easy, dear grasshopper. A plethora of curated paparazzi photos suddenly emerge. A project is on the horizon - bonus points if both parties are involved. A very public break-up, followed by a very public rebound.
Which brings us to the PR darling couple of the moment - Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson.
PART 1: THE BENEFITS
Right off the bat, I need to mention that I’m not a KarJenner apologist, but when one family holds so much influence, I do need to “keep up” with them. I do it for the newsletter!
I imagine Kris Jenner was pitched this relationship idea, and upon realizing its benefits, delivered a “it’s so crazy it just might work” line, along with a Grinch-esque smirk.
At first glance, Pete Davidson doesn’t seem like the type to partake in this type of publicity stunt. He exudes sensitive-bad-boy energy (*swoon*). But nonetheless, he is in Hollywood machine.
So let’s expand the picture a bit, and why this relationship works for them both. This is good for SNL ratings, as a younger audience may feel more inclined to tune-in to see if Pete talks about his relationship(s). Does Lorne Michaels care if he’s off gallivanting at Giorgio Baldi with Kardashian? Probably not, if it boosts the ratings! And this benefits Kim as well, as she is going through a very public (public is an understatement) divorce. If we look at it through an “aesthetics” lens, it’s following a formula à la Kourtney Kardashian with Travis Barker, and Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly.
I would be remiss not to mention that this is a tactic clearly being used to divert attention away from the Astroworld tragedy.
PART 2: THE APPEAL
Endless articles and polls surrounding the question “Is Pete Davidson hot?” have been held. Never have we so publicly debated someone’s attractiveness since Blake Shelton graced People’s 2017 Sexiest Man Alive cover (another competition of who has the best publicist in Hollywood). It’s weird we do that!
Beauty is subjective and it’s gross to debate on someone’s physical appearance. However if it matters at all, I am very attracted to Mr. Davidson, and based on an aggressive study conducted on my friends, a majority of them are as well. I see you, Pete.
The man is charming! Approachable! Relatable! Appears to be genuine! Deserves an award from Staten Island’s tourism board! He is directly attributed to the phenomenon that is BDE! I won’t dig further into parasocial relationships or the psychology of attraction, simply because I’m not qualified to.
From Davidson’s 2019 Paper photoshoot
This photo is and was art
So let’s review some of the celebrity women Davidson has dated: Cazzie David, Kate Beckinsale, Kaia Gerber, Phoebe Dynevor, and was famously engaged to Ariana Grande. Ari even included a song on her Sweetener album titled after him. The man possesses magic. His dating history is so illustrious that it spawned the “Pete Davidson has been spotted with…” meme.
One of my favorite podcasts, Comments by Celebs, had an interesting take on this. Typically and historically the media has negatively portrayed women to be the ones “dating up” to level-up their career. Perhaps we can look at this as a “fifth wave feminism” moment, where-in Davidson is leveling up his career by the women he dates. As long as we’re being cool and respectful, nothing wrong with that in my book.
PART 3: THE CONCLUSION
So what have we learned here today? Celebrity PR relationships are the thing that sell movies, spin records, and keep a celeb relevant and within our good graces.
Celebrities use each other as instruments of publicity and career enhancement. Because what’s better for a celeb than a photo circulating widely (another thing to not get me started on: staged paparazzi photos in hopes it will find its place in meme culture).
In this is a game of chess, where does one go from the likes of a Kardashian? Who will Pete Davidson be spotted with next? All I know is for the time being, there are no two better people to team up and terrorize Kim than North West and Pete.
Thanks for your understanding as the newsletter took a little break last week! If you’ve been enjoying it and haven’t subscribed, I hope that you do! 💕