Drunken doodles, misspelled lyrics, and exes carved into their skin forever. A-listers might have millions in the bank, but they aren’t immune to terrible decision making.
Before the excruciating laser sessions and botched cover-ups begin, these celebrity tattoo disasters proved one thing – permanent body art is something not to rush into.
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Unfortunately ‘much loved’ body art can quickly transform into permanent public embarrassment for those in the spotlight.
Ariana Grande, Nicole Ritchie, Megan Fox and Hailey Bieber are just a handful of celebrities who have regretted their tattoos.
Amanda Seyfried
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If there was ever a celebrity to have made a grave translation mistake with tattoos it’s Amanda Seyfried.
The Mama Mia actress had the word “minge” tattooed on her foot in 2014, a word she didn’t quite clock it had a very different meaning to her British fans.
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It was a decision made alongside two of her Mama Mia co-stars, Rachel McDowall and Ashley Lilley, who also have the tattoo on their feet in cursive writing.
Speaking about the unusual inscription, she told Graham Norton in 2020 that while she knew the word meant something very different to Brits, to her, it was a “word of endearment”.
“In the US, which is where I spend most of my time, it just doesn’t mean anything. So we commemorated our friendship with ‘minge’ tattoos.”
When she is in the UK, she faces “a lot of judgement”, but said it was a small price to pay.
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“It’s fine,” Seyfried said. “It means so much more to me than vagina.”
Amanda is clearly not so regretful as she still has the Instagram handle @mingey in honour of the controversial tatt.
Nicole Richie
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Nicole Richie got her first tattoo, a Chinese love symbol, at the tender age of 14. Since then, she has gradually added to her collection of body art, though some have raised eyebrows over the years.
One of those was a self-described “butt-crack cross” she got with a group of friends. However, discussing the tatt in 2013, she seemed keen to have it removed, saying she got it as part of a group she “no longer wanted to be in.”
“It just means a certain thing, and I don’t want to be part of that group,” she continued.
The reality TV star also has a tattoo that reads “virgin” on her wrist, which she said represents her star sign Virgo.
Discussing the ink in 2014, she said: “See this tattoo? It says ‘virgin,’ you guys. It’s embarrassing and desperate. Now, I am a Virgo so when I was 16 I thought, ‘Ooh I’m going to be different and I’m going to put virgin, because the virgin is the sign for Virgo.”
Although keen to have it altered, she admitted she couldn’t think of an alternative at the time.
Ariana Grande
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Ariana Grande is one of the most inked actresses out there. The pop star is said to have up to 75 designs spanning across her neck, back, chest, arms, hands, and feet.
Most hold sentimental value to the Wicked star, with some referencing her favourite movies – including a Breakfast at Tiffany’s quote – songs and even some of her previous relationships.
However, in 2019, Ariana realised she had made an inking error when she shared a photo on Instagram of a new tattoo to celebrate her hit single 7 Rings, only to be informed by fans that the symbols had a very different meaning in Japanese.
The kanji symbols actually translated to shichirin, which means “barbeque grill”.
At the time, she made light of the situation, telling fans she loved tiny barbeque grills anyway.
One company, Laseraway, even offered her a free tattoo removal for £1.5million. She ended up getting it redone to avoid confusion.
In screenshots of now-deleted tweets, Ariana acknowledged there were missing characters but pointed out that the design would not last, as skin on the palm regrows faster than that on the rest of the body and tattoos there typically fade.
Brooklyn Beckham
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Brooklyn Beckham has around 100 tattoos in total, with at least 70 of these dedicated to his wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham. This includes a large portrait of her eyes on the back of his neck, her wedding vows, and a full love letter inked across his back
Previously, the aspiring chef also had ink devoted to his family, but some of those appear to have been scraped amid the ongoing feud with his parents, David and Victoria Beckham.
A tattoo that once read “mama’s boy” has since been covered. The ink, which was scribbled over his heart, is now covered with a bouquet of flowers believed to be a drawing of his wife’s bridal bouquet from their wedding in 2022.
Brooklyn got the original design back in 2018, but now appears to have removed or at least heavily obscured the design. He also has the words “mum” tattooed on his arm.
Hailey Bieber
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Hailey Bieber has a comparably modest selection of tattoos, but she isn’t a fan of all of them. The model previously opened up about her ink selection and which she regrets the most.
When she was 18-years-old, Justin Bieber’s wife had a handgun inked onto her middle finger.
“I was like, ‘Yeah! That looks cool,’ “ she told Elle. “But now, as a 24-year-old, I would never do that. I think guns are violent.”
Jessie J
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Singer Jessie J is another to have had a mishap with her body ink. The singer had some of her own lyrics inscribed into her hip when she was 18.
The only problem was that one of the words had been misspelled. The Price Tag singer said she only realised her mistake once her mum pointed it out to her.
Writing on Instagram, she wrote: “Yes my tattoo says… don’t loose who you are in the blur of the stars. Yes they are MY lyrics from my song who you are,” adding that she still doesn’t know the difference between loose and lose.
She even admitted the tattoo is the reason she wears high-waisted clothes most of the time.
Khloe Kardashian
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The Kardashians are famed for their love of cosmetic enhancements. But one beautification Khloe Kardashian isn’t so proud of is a self-professed “tramp stamp” she had inked onto her lower back in honour of her father.
The TV personality was just 16 when she had the word “daddy” written on her lower back, a decision she found herself regretting during an awkward encounter with a man.
Speaking on a radio show in 2009, she discussed the very specific placement of the tattoo. Answering where she had got the body art, Khloe said: “On my lower back, I don’t like the location…” she said. “I got a trendy location. It’s called a ‘tramp stamp.’ ”
Expressing her regret on social media, Khloe wrote: “I should’ve listened to [sister] Kim when she told me ‘You don’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley’.”
She corrected her mistake in 2017 after she decided to get the tattoo removed.
Johnny Depp
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Perhaps one of the most famous celebrity tattoo corrections of all time, Johnny Depp once had the words “Winona forever” tattooed on his arm.
The actor previously dated Winona Ryder between the years of 1989 and 1993, with Johnny demonstrating his affection by getting her name written on his upper arm.
“I love Winona. I’m going to love her forever. Putting her on my arm solidified it. The truth is very powerful. Believe me. This is not something I took lightly,” he wrote.
But when the couple finally split, he decided to have the love message corrected. Instead of reading “Winona forever”, it said “wino forever”.
Later asked if he regretted getting the tattoo in the first place, he said, “No, I don’t regret the tattoo at all. It’s a part of my past, and it’s a part of my history. I would definitely keep it. I mean, I could add things to it, I could subtract, I could make it ‘Wino Forever.’”
Amy Schumer
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Amy Schumer’s lower back tattoo is so famous that she used it as the title for her book. The actress got a “tramp stamp” in her teens.
Amy claimed she got the tattoo done at a “shady” spot in the East Village.
“They went too deep,” she said of the tribal-inspired tattoo. “It’s not straight. It’s on an angle and it’s not good. I remember it kind of puffed up and was irritated, it was not good for making out.”
She recalled being either 17 or 18 at the time, an age she joked was “a great time to make a permanent decision”.
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She later named her memoir The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo.