Tat or No Tat?

Most big time celebrities these days have a tat or two and some have numbers of tats approaching double figures. The problem with all this ink work is that sometimes the celeb wants to turn back the clock and get the offending design removed. There are a number of reasons for this desire and common ones are to remove the name of an ex or to remove a tat that was clearly inspired by an ex.

Angelina Jolie’s marriage to Billy Bob Thornton resulted in the star having Billy Bob’s name inked on her arm. The marriage lasted just three years and the divorce led Jolie to cover the name with the names of the various birthplaces of her children. Not to be outdone Billy Bob had Jolie’s name inked on his own arm covered by an angel and the word “Peace”.
One of the most bizarre tat removals was Tom Arnold erasure of four Roseanne Barr inks on his body, including a huge portrait of her on his chest. Divorce again led to all of them being removed by laser treatment.

Denise Richards divorce from Charlie Sheen led to the transformation of her “Charlie” tattoo located on her ankle into a fairy and Britney Spears and Kevin Federline’s matching dice tattoos met a similar end, both being laser removed.

Paris Hilton quickly regretted having the name of partner Nick Carter plastered on her arse and the demise of the 7 month relationship inevitably led to Paris’s decision to have it removed – although it may have been more of an expression to leave it where it was!

Another common celebrity regret tattoo is the “Ring” finger tat. Pamela Anderson famously had the first name of lover Tommy Lee changed into the word “Mommy” when they went their separate ways and Johnny Depp had “Winona Forever” (a tribute to lover Winona Ryder) changed to read “Wino Forever” when their relationship went sour.

It’s not just names that cause a problem. Tommy Lee decided to have the Swastika that he had inked on his rib cage removed simply because of the connotations of the design and what it represented.

All these tales provide a reminder to think carefully about your decision to have the name of a partner inked on your body…..although modern methods such as laser removal have certainly improved the ability to remove offending tats in a simple manner.