So, Kat Von D—remember her, right? The tattoo queen who made the ink world her playground on LA Ink back in 2007—is now on a bit of an erasure spree. In 2020, she decided to black out most of her own tattoos, calling it quits on the stories her skin once told during her “former drinking days.” Can you imagine spending 40 hours and 17 sessions just to cover up your past? It’s like cosmic irony that, under this Aquarius vibe encouraging reinvention and cleansing, she’s not only lived it but also inked it out of existence. And while many of us cling to our past like a Venus in Taurus clutching a vintage handbag, Kat’s wiping the slate clean—literally. Plus, after battling that wild copyright lawsuit over a famous Miles Davis tattoo, she’s now leaning away from the tattoo needle for good—or at least for a long while. Pretty wild, huh? Whether it’s fate, feminism, or just a powerful need for transformation, Kat Von D’s journey begs the question—when was the last time you reconsidered the art you wear on your own sleeve? LEARN MORE.”
Reality TV star Kat Von D has provided an update on her tattoo art after deciding to black out her own designs.
She first rose to fame in 2007 as part of the TLC show LA Ink, where over four seasons of TV she welcomed a number of celebrities into her Los Angeles tattoo parlour.
However, in 2020 she made the decision to ‘black out’ the various designs on her skin.
Von D explained that it took 17 sessions and about 40 hours to get pretty much all of her tattoos covered up, saying it felt right to ‘finally cover up so many of the tattoos I got back when I used to drink.’
Last year, she told Inked Magazine she felt ‘fed up’ with a lot of the tattoos she had and found it incredibly ‘satisfying’ to see them covered up.
Kat Von D started getting her tattoos blacked out in 2020, and has said she doesn’t want to ink anyone else at the moment either (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Project Angel Food)
It’s not just the tattoos she’s had for herself that she seems to be done and dusted with, as she also said that she may not go back to being a tattoo artist.
Kat Von D was sued over her tattoo artistry in 2021 by photographer Jeff Sedlik, who claimed copyright infringement over a tattoo she gave a friend which looked like a 1989 photo he took of musician Miles Davis.
Sedlik’s attorney argued that ‘no one’s art is safe‘ if tattoo artists can recreate them by etching ink onto someone else’s skin, but in 2024 a jury found her not guilty and Von D’s attorney said the case ‘never should have been brought.’
The Los Angeles Times reported that after her court win she said she wasn’t looking forward to getting back into the tattoo parlour.
She said: “I think I don’t want to ever tattoo again; my heart has been crushed through this in different ways.”
Von D didn’t entirely close the door on returning to being a tattoo artist, saying ‘we’ll see with time’ what happens, but that’s for her to decide in the future.
While she’s had most of her tattoos blacked out some of them are now being lasered off as the reality TV star recently provided an update in which she said she was marking her ’18 year sober anniversary’ and was celebrating by getting some of her tattoos removed.
She posted footage on her socials of a flower tattoo on her neck being lasered off and seemed pretty happy with the results.
On the other hand, she proved that kids say the darnedest things as the verdict from a rather young peanut gallery wasn’t quite as approving.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.