Pete Davidson has responded to PETA's criticism over his pet store purchase.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent TMZ a voicemail that the Saturday Night Live star left for their Cruelty Investigations Department senior vice president Daphna Nachminovitch on Monday (US time).
In the voicemail, Pete responded to a statement that Daphna previously released condemning his decision to shop for a dog at a pet store in New York City.
"Thank you so much for making comments publicly that I didn't adopt a dog," the comedian said on the phone.
"I just want to let you know I'm severely allergic to dogs, so I have to get a specific breed. I'm only not allergic to Cavapoos, and those type of dogs."
He explained that he needed to buy that "specific dog" to replace a family pooch that had recently died.
"My mom's f**king dog, who's two years old, died a week prior, and we're all so sad," Pete continued in his voicemail.
"So why don't you do your research before f**king (creating a) news story for people... F**k you. And suck my d**k."
After the voicemail was made public, Pete told TMZ that he didn't know he could "adopt a specific hypoallergenic dog", having been told that "it wasn't an option, and if it was, it was rare".
He also addressed the explicit content of the voicemail message.
"I haven't seen my mom and sister cry like that in over 20 years. I was trying to cheer up my family," the television personality insisted.
"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."