There are thousands of people who have amazing and intricate tattoos - but there are also those who accidentally butchered their permanent body art. Here's a look at some tattoo fails that made us LOL.
Poor Marilyn
One quick glance, and we can see this tattoo artist might have slipped up. But it does take a few glances to fully comprehend who the artwork is supposed to resemble. Marilyn Monroe? More like Marilyn Mon-NO!
While the artist got the majority of the outline correct, it is the facial expression that throws us off. Maybe there wasn't an example picture? Or maybe it was their first time drawing a face? We can't know for sure - all we know is that the next person who wants a tattoo of the iconic Hollywood actress should think twice…
"Death Due Us Part"
It's clear that this couple had strong feelings for each other, so much so, that they decided to signify their love by getting matching tattoos. Their inspiration was based on wedding vows, except we have a feeling they didn't actually read the words before telling the artist their tattoo idea... if they even had one.
One person wrote under the picture, "I've got to wonder if they did each other's [tattoo]." Another teased, "Her [tattoo] looks like it was written by a 2nd grader learning cursive for the first time. At least his is semi-straight." Despite the small mistake, we hope these two are going strong!
Translation Error
It's no secret that people love getting tattoos in other languages. It adds a sense of mystery since the majority of people in their life can't read the chosen language. But with that comes many hilarious fails. One small letter mistake and an inspirational word turns into a deli meat sandwich.
A user of Reddit shared a photo of his friends, "Today I learned that my friend's Chinese tattoo literally means "Turkey Sandwich," he captioned the photo. We can't even imagine how the man felt learning that he was going to have that on his body forever...
It's Is My Life
All it takes is one small mistake, and a tattoo is ruined forever. Luckily, many of these errors are minor and go unnoticed - but with this specific example, it's hard to miss the messed-up words. Back in 2000, Jon Bon Jovi's song It's My Life was a smash hit. And we're gonna guess this person loved the track.
But unfortunately, when getting the title and name of the artist tattooed onto his body, things didn't go as planned. Rather than getting the infamous phrase "it's my life" tattooed, this person got "it's is my life" inked on his body for life. And rather than getting "Jon Bon Jovi," he received "Jon Bovi.' LOL.
Missing Letter
This tattoo was so close to being right. But once again, the artist forgot to add in just one small detail that can either make or break the entire design. This Twitter user just wanted the phrase "treat others with kindness" on her body to remind others of the important message.
But the person inking her body forgot to include the letter "N" in kindness, which ultimately led to this unforgettable tattoo failure. "If you're ever having a bad day, just remember my tattoo artist did me dirty and spelt my first tattoo wrong," she teased.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Occasionally a tattoo failure is the result of miscommunication that occurs between client and artist. In this case, the woman walked into the tattoo parlor and wanted a very specific design permanently inked onto her body. She revealed on Reddit that it was "apparently supposed to be of 'stars.'"
The woman had a very specific idea in her mind, but the execution wasn't exactly what she had hoped it would be. The post was filled with many hilarious reactions, with one Reddit user commenting, "I guess no one told her stars are not black," and another wrote that it looked "like an ink pen sneezed on her." Ouch!
Keep One Eye Open
We can't lie, if we saw this man walking in front of us we would have a fright! But honestly, props to him for being so dedicated to such an... interesting... tattoo. He even grew his hair out just enough for it to look like he has a mustache on the back of his head!
We guess this ink wasn't exactly a mistake, but it was definitely a bold choice. The freaked-out expression and detailed shading tell us the artist was asked by the man to have this done on him. We can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be to maintain this peculiar "face."
Brad's Biggest Fan
Dedicated fans will go above and beyond to show their love and admiration for celebrities. This woman decided she needed to show the world how much of a fan she was for Brad Pitt… and honesty, we don't blame her. But unfortunately, her idea didn't go exactly as planned.
@bonkers.on.coffee shared the hilarious picture and explained the pun of the tattoo, "Say Hello To 'Brad Pitt.'" Okay, this ink had us laughing out loud! The irony is like something we've never seen before. But we can't help but wonder what the iconic actor would think of this...
Nothing Was The Same
This Drake fan wanted to honor his favorite rapper by getting his face and name permanently inked on his body. But we guess the tattoo artist wasn't familiar with the Canadian artist or what he looked like because the artwork wasn't exactly accurate.
The individual was eager to get the cover of Drakes's album Scorpion inked on his forearm. But the end result didn't exactly look like the 6 God… at least his name was placed on top to tell onlookers who it's supposed to resemble. Who knows what Drake would think if he saw this post?
The "Perfect" Tattoo
Okay, okay, so this one isn't exactly a "fail" because the man behind the tattoo wanted it done like this - but we had to include it because it's just too funny. He wanted to poke fun at those people who think every detail of permanent body art should be perfection.
And clearly, he doesn't agree. Because, to him, no tattoo should be so flawless, hence the ink he received. It reads, "tattoos must be," with a crossed out "perfa," followed by "perfect." The crossing out was done intentionally - and we can't help but think this man has a great sense of humor.
Double Wammy
Not only does this tattoo have one spelling error, but it has two! The person might have expected to walk out of the tattoo parlor rocking an inspirational quote on their body, but unfortunately, they walked out with a tattoo fail. The artist forgot to include an "R" in "yourself" - but more notably misspelled "hope" as "hoop."
One Reddit user jokingly commented underneath the picture, "I'm impressed they spelled lose right. So they didn't loose that bad," and another user teased, "Believe being spelled correctly was a bigger surprise for me." But it's the meaning behind the tattoo that counts... right?
Honoring The Pandemic
One would think that a tattoo artist would know how to spell the word "tattoo." But by this point, nothing surprised us when it comes to body ink mistakes. This individual wanted to get a pretty funny tattoo to honor the COVID-19 pandemic that arguably changed everyone's lives.
But there was one small error that ruined the sentence. "I survived a global pandemic, and all I got was this stupid TTTOO," reads the man's cynical tattoo that was placed next to a drawing of a germ. All he wanted was to acknowledge the global pandemic, but things went south. Better luck next time?
Eyes On The Back of His Head
This man took the phrase "I got eyes on the back of my head" quite literally by having it permanently placed on his body forever. We guess the man who shared the photo on Twitter of the man in front of him thought the world needed to see the masterpiece.
The individual even went as far as to include the phrase "I C All" alongside two detailed eyeballs that have a piercing stare. Maybe he wanted people around him to know that he is always watching and is aware of everything going on around him. Take note…
Fresh Paint Job
Much permanent body art ends up being regretted by those behind the tattoo. Luckily though, if a tattoo failure is so severe, there are ways to get it removed. Typically people will opt for laser treatments, but since they can be pricey, others decide to just alter the OG ink.
This man was very clever with how he wanted the name "Angel" removed from his body. He asked the artist to actually add a design on top of the mistake so that it looked like a man was painting over the ink he is longer a fan of. Talk about a creative genius!
Not Exactly Temporary
This person wanted the word "temporary" tattooed onto his body. And ironically, the ink that will be permanently etched on him forever was spelled completely wrong. We're not sure why this word was what he wanted to get, maybe he thought it was a funny metaphor?
But regrettably, the artist made a huge mistake by adding an extra "ar" so that it spelled out "Temporarary" Oops... There's no going back now for the man stuck with the tattoo for life. But hey, at least this will most likely be the topic of many hilarious stories to come.
El Barto Wuz Here!
The Simpson's is arguably a very notorious cartoon sitcom known by most people. But what non-hardcore fans may not remember from the show is El Barto - Bart Simpson's graffiti-tagging alter ego. We guess this character meant a lot to the man behind the tattoo because he got it inked on forever.
"El Barto wuz here!" read the hilarious tattoo next to a small outline picture of the son of Homer and Marge. While there are probably hundreds - or even thousands - of Simspons-inspired tattoos, this one is probably one of the more unique ones since it shows off a different persona than usually seen.
Too Busy To Desappear
This tattoo failure was attempted to be fixed, but the original mistake made is just too obvious to miss. It was so close to turning out perfect, but the artist made one small letter error. And just like that, the word "disappear" turns into "desappear."
The woman behind the tat went back to the parlor and asked for (what we're hoping was a new artist) to cross out the "e" and underneath it, write out "I." While we can't know if this mistake was intended to not, at least this way, it looks like it was done on purpose.
Matching Tattoos?
Couple tattoos are always a controversial topic. No one can know if a person and their significant other will really be together for as long as the ink will last... a.k.a. forever. But this specific couple made a far worse mistake than getting tattoos together.
Other than doing the cliche names for one another, these two opted to get two halves of a tattoo that, when put together, complete each other. Regrettably, though, the artist turned the idea into a major fail when they made the right tattoo lopsided so that even when the couple's arms are linked, the tattoos don't line up. Awkward.
Unforgettable Summer
A user on Instagram decided to grace his followers with a hilarious post about his friend's tattoo fail. He even shared the story behind the messed-up ink, "My friend got this tattoo while drunk at a country festival. Need new friends." Uh oh... nothing good can come when mixing permanent body art and alcohol.
We're gonna assume this party-goer was rocking out to some country music when all of a sudden he got the urge to go get a tattoo that read "with every heartbeat." All he wanted was to remember his fun summer spent at Delray Beach back when he was 23... and let's just say we have a hunch he'll never forget that night.
Forever And a Day
Arguably majority of tattoos are inspired by some kind of motivational quote or phrase. And while we do admire an encouraging message, sometimes it just takes one little letter to turn it into a whole new meaning. And that's exactly what happened with this man's tattoo.
This person went in to get "Forever and A Day Til My Last Breath" etched onto his arm for good. But regrettably, the artist included an extra "e" that wasn't needed in the word "breath." One Reddit user laughed at the error, "That's gonna stay there "forever and a day."
Walmart Version of Bart
Arguably everyone is familiar with the cartoon The Simpsons - whether or not a person watches the sitcom, the majority of us know what the iconic yellow characters look like. So one quick glance at this tattoo, and it's clear that the tattoo artist behind it was probably not experienced.
While it's expected that using a tattoo machine is difficult, a lot of the time, famous characters don't turn out looking exactly as they do on our screens. But this one looks to be completely off base… and honestly, we find it hilarious just how many key features were left out of drawing Bart.
Lack of Patients
TBH, we can't help but feel bad about this fail! All the person wanted was a cute little tattoo on their wrist to remind them to be "patient." But unfortunately, no one decided to double check how to spell the word before permanently placing it on her body for life.
Unless maybe the woman who shared the photo on Reddit is actually a doctor and wanted to get the word "patients" marked on her body? Probably not... the only thing we can guess is that the artist misheard or misunderstood the request from the customer.
Permanently Lost
The hilariousness of tattoo fails makes us wonder why the person behind the tattoo or even the tattoo artist doesn't double-check for corrections before actually placing permanent ink onto a person's body. But despite how simple it would be to do so, many people disregard checking for mistakes.
This ultimately leads to some pretty funny results. This ink may have an intricate design, but there is one tiny flaw. One Reddit user explained the confusion between East and West, suggesting "the tattoo artist did it with a sharpie first, but when she saw it in the mirror, she thought it was backwards."
True Bulls Fan
A Reddit user was enjoying their day at the beach when they looked over and saw a stranger a tattoo that made them laugh out loud so much they had to share it with the internet. @Burulambie posted the picture along with the caption, "spotted on the beach. Go bulls!"
It's not hard to realize the man in the photo is a big fan of the Chicago Bulls - but we also understand that he didn't go to the best tattoo artist... if he even went to one. One commenter suggested, "I think he gave himself the tattoo, hence the wonky perspective," another proposed a different theory, "maybe his kid drew it?"
World Cup... Losers
It seems like this man got ahead of himself when it came time to get this tattoo inked on. Or maybe he was just being hopeful? Either way, he ended up getting "England 2018 World Cup Winners" The problem? France was the team that walked home with the win that year.
Maybe the tattoo jinxed who won the world cup game? Regardless of what happened, this man has a forever reminder that his team sadly didn't get to take home the victory. Luckily, users on Reddit had ideas on how to cover it up. One person said, "get a line put through it and get the England vs. Croatia score underneath."
You Only... B?
This hilarious mistake has us laughing out loud! Arguably many of us remember the popularity of the term YOLO (you only live once) from way back in 2012. It took over the internet, with many constantly saying it as a way to justify some questionable things... like getting a botched tattoo, let's say?
Unfortunately, the spacing between the last two letters of "L" and "O" seems to be nonexistent, causing the tattoo to look like it says "yob." But thankfully, many Reddit users seem to believe the mistake makes the original cliche tattoo look better. "Let's face facts here people, yob is a much better tattoo."
Some Regerts
Oh, the irony. Arguably many of us are familiar with the ol' "no regrets" saying. And while the majority of us probably hope that's true, at the end of the day, we all most likely would take back a thing or two. And this man isn't shy to admit that, as his tattoo says.
Based on his tattoo, it looks like the man does have some regrets... and one of them is probably the tattoo itself. Maybe it was on purpose, or maybe it was a hilarious mistake - but either way, the spelling mistake of "regerts" has turned this phrase into an ironic coincidence.
Bologna
If a person ever has some confusion about our lower body parts, all they need to do is refer back to this man's helpful tattoo! But apparently, the person behind the permanent ink had a more creative idea for the tat rather than just naming sections of his body.
On the area that is above the knee, he asked that artist to literally write "above the knee." But for the lower half, he had a funny play on words. He asked for the word "Bologna" to be etched on his body right below the joint. LOL. We can't lie, this one has us laughing hard!
Bundle of Joy
Unfortunately, even tattoos with an adorable meaning can end up being botched and not looking the way they were planned. A case in point is the below picture. Clearly, the original snap of the baby is adorable - but that didn't quite translate onto this person's body. Just us?
The half asleep, half awake baby obviously has a tiny smirk going on, but we're gonna assume the tattoo artist didn't notice that because they forgot to add that into the ink design! And while the shading in details was done right, the overall work looks a bit confusing to us...
Batman's Long Lost Cousin
A Reddit user was desperately searching for answers and opinions on their unfortunate tattoo. But we can't lie, we can't figure out what exactly it's supposed to be. It's not clear whether it's a bat or if the Joker's face inside of it is meant to be scary or not.
This person shared the photo and wrote, "Hey Reddit, I have a horrible tattoo! Lol, tell me your honest thoughts." Of course, social media users were brutally honest. "I'm so sorry, this is hilarious… I think blacking it out is the way to go," laughed one person, with another commenting, "Use a laser. Just get rid of it."