25 Celebrities With the Most Outrageous Tattoos
You'll never forget them once you see how wild they are.
Since the Neolithic age, men and women cross culturally have been tattooing their bodies under the guise of religious veneration or cosmetic expression, a process giving corporeal manifestation to presumed hereditary and tribal allegiances. Though historically viewed as the taboo insignia of fringe societal subsets, this list is indicative of a larger cultural shift in the perception of tattooing. In 2012, just 21% of adult Americans had a tattoo, a share that has since ballooned to nearly a third by 2022.
Gucci Mane
In 2011, the Atlanta rapper debuted his newest and most notable ink - a triple scoop ice cream cone emblazoned with the word “brrr” on his right cheek. A spokesman for the trap pioneer told Rolling Stone the tattoo was a reminder to fans Mane chose to live his life “cool as ice.” So icy, purportedly, you may even say “brrr.”
Steve-O
The American stuntman and entertainer has collected about as many absurd tattoos as he has endured injuries throughout filming the Jackass franchise. Most notably, perhaps, is his self-portrait occupying nearly the entirety of his back.
Presley Gerber
The 23 year-old son of models Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber raised eyebrows in February 2020 when he showed off his newest ink: a script tattoo of the word “misunderstood” below his right eye. Gerber addressed the ensuing backlash his ink garnered on his Instagram story writing, “Most and a lot of people can get a face lifts, change genders, lip injections, etc and it's offensive to say anything in today's day in age but I get a little face tattoo and now people love to hate me..Hmmmm?” It appears, however, the young model has since had the tattoo removed.
Ben Affleck
In 2019, while filming Netflix’s Top Frontier, paparazzi shots of the actor’s beach scenes surfaced showing him sporting a tattoo seemingly depicting a phoenix rising out of the actor’s buttocks. Affleck originally denied the tattoo’s authenticity in 2016, but would later confirm the tattoo’s legitimacy, telling daytime host Ellen DeGeneres in 2019 the piece “represents something deeply personal to me”.
Amber Rose
The former video vixen had the words “Bash Slash” scrawled across the crown of her forehead sometime in 2020. Rose later revealed the ink was intended as an homage to her children, Sebastian and Slash.
Moby
In 2019, 90s dance music mainstay and animal rights activist Moby had the words “vegan for life” tatted on the right side of his throat by celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D.
Mike Tyson
In 2003, just days before his fight with boxer and convicted robber Clifford Etienne, Tyson had his now infamous tribal tattoo inked onto his face. However, in a 2012 interview Tyson would reveal he’d originally intended to go with a more endearing design: a cluster of hearts.
Pamela Anderson
As one of the most recognizable pop culture figures from the 1990s, it makes sense that the glamour model would have a tattoo embodying the trendiest ink movement of the time in the form of a barbed wire armband. Perhaps speaking to the tattoo’s anachronistic appearance post Y2K, it appears Anderson has since had the ink removed.
Cara Delevingne
While the English model and actor has racked up more than 20 tattoos by now, her first, a hyper realistic portrait of a lion on her knuckle, remains arguably the most distinctive.
Zac Efron
Sometime around 2011, the High School Musical star had the maladroit acronym “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) tattooed on the outer flank of his right hand. While the sentiment behind the inane saying may still stand, Efron’s since had the piece removed.
Amanda Seyfried
While Seyfried’s tattoo carries no real meaning in the US, the word’s definition in the UK carries a decidedly more lewd connotation.
Jamie Foxx
The Django Unchained star, much like Tyson, seems to have an affinity for cranial tribal ink as evidenced here by the ink he had done in 2007 as a 40th birthday present to himself.
Post Malone
The 27 year-old rapper recently had the words “always tired” tattooed underneath each of his eyes to, ostensibly, give his under-eye bags a more literal expression. When asked about the reception of his rather idiosyncratic taste in tattoos, the White Iverson singer quipped, “I got a face for radio anyways, so why not?”
T-Pain
In 2021, the Grammy award-winning singer had a meme depicting a befuddled Jackie Chan tattooed on the back of his right hand.
Charlie Sheen
Circa 2011, the embattled comedy actor had his notoriously obnoxious catchphrase “winning” tattooed on his wrist in quasi comic sans font.
Rihanna
The multi hyphenate star has a tattoo of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood and fertility, right below her breastbone in commemoration of her late grandmother, Clara.
Shawn Mendes
The 24 year-old Canadian singer revealed the tattoo of a guitar occupying the majority of his right forearm has multiple layers of personal meaning. The body of the guitar incorporates depictions of trees, the Toronto skyline, and sound-wave imagery of his parents saying “I love you.”
Ryan Gosling
The Canadian actor gave himself this unique tattoo after purchasing a home tattoo kit. He later admitted that while the image was originally intended to depict a zombie’s hand dropping a bloody heart, it more closely resembles a rudimentary drawing of a cactus.
Hayden Panettiere
Though she’d later have the ink removed, the Nashville actress had “live without regrets” tattooed on her side in Italian but, ironically, the translation had been misspelled and she’d later have it removed.
Nicole Richie
As a teenager, the reality star turned fashion designer had the word “virgin” tattooed on her wrist in a swirling cursive font as an homage to her astrological sign. Richie later told E! she regrets the tattoo and has debated covering it up with new ink.
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