Pete Davidson Defends Dog Purchase in Explicit Voicemail to PETA

By Larisha Paul

PETA looked around at all of the potential animal rights violations they could allocate resources toward combatting and decided that their most pressing enemy was former Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson. In an interview with TMZ, PETA's Senior VP of Cruelty Investigations, Daphna Nachminovitch, described his decision to purchase a cavapoo puppy from a store instead of adopting as "tragic." This, along with the leaked photos of himself at the pet shop with his girlfriend, fired Davidson up.

"Hi, my name is Pete Davidson, this message is for Daphna. Thank you so much for making comments publicly that I didn't adopt a dog. I just want to let you know I’m severely allergic to dogs, so I have to get a specific breed," Davidson explained in an explicit leaked voicemail message obtained by TMZ. "I’m only not allergic to cavapoos and those type of dogs. And my mom's fucking dog, who was two years old, died a week prior, and we’re all so sad, so I had to get a specific dog. So, why don't you do your research before you fucking create news stories for people because you’re a boring, tired fuck. Fuck you and suck my dick."

But PETA wasn't won over by Davidson's grief story. In a statement issued to TMZ following the voicemail explanation, they added: "Our hearts go out to the Davidson family for the loss of their dog, but Pete must know in his heart that there's no excuse for buying a dog and propping up the puppy mill industry when millions of dogs await loving homes in shelters, and we hope he’ll do the right thing and adopt next time."

The organization also maintained that Davidson didn't conduct proper research on the matter because "there's no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog." In a separate statement, the comedian said he was told: "It wasn't an option, and if it was, it was rare."

Davidson also acknowledged that while his wording was harsh, he felt justified in defending himself and his family from the organization's targeted messaging. "I haven't seen my mom and sister cry like that in over 20 years. I was trying to cheer up my family. I was already upset that the store had filmed me without my permission or acknowledgment," he told TMZ. "Then this organization (PETA) made a public example of us, making our grieving situation worse. I am upset. It was a poor choice of words. I shouldn't have said what I said, but I am not sorry for standing up for myself and my family."