When fan tattoos go wrong

Fan tattoos often begin as proof of devotion but can acquire new meanings as the people behind them change. On 20 February 2012 Coté Arias met Morrissey in Santiago and had him sign her forearm; she later traced the spiky capitalised signature into a permanent tattoo.

In recent years that ink has become complicated for her: Morrissey has publicly supported a far‑right party and made inflammatory comments about immigration, though he denies allegations of racism. Some fans respond by removing or covering up ink. Ella had a yellow Pikachu on her wrist lasered off after the placement caused embarrassment; Grace from London replaced a Blink‑182 smiley on her hip with a shaded rose.

Others keep their marks. Tim, who has ‘3:04’ in a calculator font referencing a Frank Ocean song, discovered the numbers read ‘hoe’ upside‑down but says he keeps it as “a reminder of how careless I was.” For many the issue goes deeper than embarrassment.

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