Celebrities are not known for their good decisions, but a few bad press cycles can usually heal with time.
On the other hand, tattoos are forever.
Tattoos are beautiful, personal methods of expression, and nobody has the right to judge whether a tattoo is "good or bad." Yet here we are. Here's a list of the most egregious, horrible, and disconcerting celebrity tattoos, so you can feel better about your life choices at the expense of someone else's.
1. Ariana Grande
This tattoo was a major mishap for several reasons. Not only did it appropriate the Japanese language—it also was misspelled, and the version Ariana got means "bbq grill," not "7 rings" as she intended.
2. Chanel Iman
This could come in handy if you find yourself in a Memento-type situation, but otherwise, why? Personally, I actually really respect the boldness and self-confidence of this choice, but also, this tattoo would make it very, very hard to develop a fake identity or an alter ego.
3. Drake
Drake got a cologne bottle tattooed on his body. It probably means something to him, but for the rest of us plebeians, it's another one of life's mysteries.
4. Jackson Rathbone
This guy may have played ethereal femme vampire Jasper Cullen on Twilight, but since then, he got a bottle of ketchup tattooed on his leg. Normally I try not to judge, but ketchup should only be mentioned in conjunction with very specific foods, and imagining it out of context on someone's body is triggering, especially for someone who was once forced to eat ketchup as part of a disastrous truth or dare game.
5. Chris Brown
Abuser Chris Brown has a disturbing drawing of a face that kind of looks like Rihanna with a black eye on his neck. He's denied that it's Rihanna, but reminder: Chris Brown beat up Rihanna. Remind me why anyone is still listening to his music?
6. Zac Efron
This one is just iconic. In 2012, Zac Efron got YOLO tattooed on his hand—and if you've forgotten or blocked out those years, #YOLO was a popular early hashtag that stands for #You #Only #Live #Once. Zefron later got the tattoo removed, sadly, but this one is actually so funny and campy that he really should've kept it for the laughs. Those really were simpler times. Sigh.
7. Zoë Kravitz and Jason Momoa
Zoë Kravitz got matching tattoos with stepdad Jason Momoa, and the phrase reads "etre toujours ivre," which, translated from the French, means "Always be drunk." While the phrase probably has a lot of rich meaning to them (it probably means "always be drunk on life" or something like that), this sounds like a recipe for alcoholism. See you in AA?
8. Mike Tyson
This infamous tattoo has been parodied everywhere, but actually it's a problem because it appropriates imagery from the Maori.
9. Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson thinks she should be allowed to play people of color onscreen and that it's ok to keep working with piece of human garbage Woody Allen. So, we're going to drag her tattoo. It's campy, a child could've drawn it, and the colors are weird. Try again.
10. David Beckham
David Beckham got his wife's name tattooed on his arm in Hindi, but it was...misspelled, and it actually reads "Vihctoria." Still, he's David Beckham.
11. T-Pain
Is T-Pain's tattoo an outdated relic of a dying social media site, or a radical act of protest against a hegemonic power that is effectively running our elections? Only time will tell.
12. Aaron Carter
I admire this tattoo, though many don't feel the same way. (Medusa is a feminist icon, after all). Still, face tattoos are always a risky choice.
13. Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere's tattoo was supposed to read "Vivere senza rimipianti," which means "to live life without regrets." But instead, it's spelled "rimpianti." No ragrets, am I right?
