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Tattoos are much more accepted now than they were in decades past. That said, if anyone has the freedom to get crazy ink, it’s celebrities—they’re not like the rest of us clocking into a 9-to-5 every day.
Some celebs like Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa have become known for their impossible-to-count numbers of tattoos. Wiz even has songs dedicated to inking his whole body. There are the iconic tats that have become part of pop culture history like LeBron James’ “Chosen One” back piece, or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s giant tribal number that covers half of his upper body.
The most memorable ones though, are the questionable, wacky, and absurd ink celebrities have revealed over the years. While some of them eventually cover them up after a change of heart, others continue to let their freak flag fly proudly.
We decided to look back at some of the craziest famous-people tattoos of all time. “Crazy” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad,” even though there are plenty of crappy tattoos on this list. We also omitted any tattoos that, to the best of our knowledge, have been removed or covered up. Nonetheless, enjoy.
Kerwin Frost boasts incredibly unique sartorial choices. The full pencil tatted on the side of his face might not even be the wildest thing he’s ever worn. As strange as it is, the classic wooden school pencil on his cheek actually suits him. Even so, getting that as his first tattoo at the age of 14 was bold. Considering how Frost’s career has gone, we guess it ultimately paid off.
No, Ja Rule doesn’t just love Marvel villains. Back in 2006, the rapper was reportedly going to change his name to Loki. It never happened, so this tat is so crazy because its a reminder of a strange alternate world that never was.
In March 2018, JR Smith modeled for the Supreme x Nike x NBA collaboration. A few months later, the NBA star got the streetwear brand’s logo tatted on his leg to mimic the shooting sleeves that had released. Unfortunately, the NBA threatened to fine him every game that it wasn’t covered up. We can see why this might have seemed like a cool thing to do in the moment, but looking back, he could have probably saved that space on his calf for something else considering all of the headache it caused.
We sympathize with the message. We, too, are always tired, Posty. But going as far as to permanently place the words under your eyes is truly embracing the struggle. Maybe some extra naps would have been a better choice?
Birdman took his “Five Star Stunna” nickname literally and decided to accessorize his bald head with a bunch of the pointy red shapes. That’s commitment.
It’s hard for us to say anything bad about T-Pain, but this is a rare exception. The ink says “You Don’t Have to Like Me” and incorporates Facebook’s “Like” button. Was the rappa-ternt-sanga addicted to Farmville? Obsessed with The Social Network? We may never know the answer. “I’m Sprung” and “Buy You a Drank” have aged like fine wine. This tat, not so much.
Lil Wayne is arguably the most notorious tattooed artist in hip-hop history. It’s become his trademark. The reason we highlighted this over some others that may be deemed worse is because we can’t imagine how painful it must be to have your eyelids drilled with a tattoo needle. You don’t even see this unless his eyes are closed. Was it worth it?
The WWE superstar has said that this wasn’t supposed to be so damn big. Unfortunately, he decided not to look at it until it was finished. Now, he has an obnoxiously oversized tattoo of his logo climbing up his neck like a symbiote. We love you Cody, but we can’t help but chuckle at this every time you pop on our screens.
This arm tattoo on former NBA player-turned-commentator Richard Jefferson would get a pass if one of his children drew it and this was his way to represent them. But that isn’t the case here. This is just a shitty tattoo. In a world full of questionable tats, this one has stood the test of time as one of the worst. The tattoo artist you choose is important, kids.
If you are one of those people who purchased an emoji sweatsuit roughly a decade ago, you’re probably praying that the photos of you wearing it never resurface. Now imagine you got a slew of the emoticons tattooed on you permanently. The former NBA role player made a name for himself due to the hilarious ink, but what seemed like a funny novelty eight years ago hasn’t aged so gracefully.
Chris Andersen carved out a nice career for himself, most notably as a member of the 2013 Miami Heat championship team led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Despite being a lifelong role player, Andersen became a fan-favorite for his wacky mohawk, sleeves of tats, and his “Birdman” moniker. He honored the name (and showed love to Lynyrd Skynyrd?) with a humungous neck tat in 2010 that read “Free Bird,” which was filled in with a rainbow of colors. Getting something to stand out amid his colorful sleeves is an impressive feat.
Machine Gun Kelly has had his whole body covered in ink since he burst onto the scene in the 2010s. Apparently, he decided that all of those random pieces were too much in 2024 and totally blacked out his upper body and arms. We won’t question MGK’s intent behind the dramatic ink, but the visual is jarring. And it was probably extremely painful.
No, this wasn’t an elaborate Jackass stunt. Steve-O just decided his mug was so gorgeous that everyone should be able to see it from the front and the back. This tattoo is iconic for its sheer insanity. Like many of the other things Steve-O has done in his lifetime, don’t try this at home.
This one is pretty self explanatory. Tatting a bunch of 69s across your entire body…
As if seeing Zeke Elliott hit his “Feed Me” celebration after every single run during his prime wasn’t bad enough, he immortalized it with a stomach tattoo. A cropped jersey was one of his trademarks, so we sort of understand why he’d decided to get this inked. As he inches closer to retirement, now it only looks like he’s super hungry all the time.
Drake has a handful of odd tattoos. The bottle of Drakkar Noir on his left shoulder comes to mind. This one of high school-era LeBron James is actually well done. The reason it’s so crazy now is the falling out that Drake and LeBron have had over the past year. Chalk this one up to unfortunate circumstances.
This one is meant to honor Amber Rose’s two sons. While face tats are much more common these days, it’s definitely a statement to get one on the forehead rather than elsewhere, especially if you don’t have a handful of face tats already.
There’s so much going on here. There’s the drippy “Rare” lettering across his shoulders, and “One” in Old English underneath it. An alien head is randomly placed at the center of his back. Gothic crosses that may or may not be a nod to Chrome Hearts occupy his elbows. All of these details individually would be totally acceptable. The work is well done. But altogether, it’s a confusing clusterfuck.
Gucci Mane’s ice cream face tat has achieved legendary status. It’s become so iconic that some people may have forgotten how wild it was to see an ice cream cone on someone’s cheek when it was first unveiled back in 2011. But we haven’t. Iconic status aside, Gucci was taking his “Brr” ad-lib a bit too literally when he sat down in the chair for this one.
Like Gucci’s ice cream cone, this is one of the most iconic tattoos of all time. It’s become a defining symbol of the boxing legend. However, a tribal face tat is still a tribal face tat. So bad that it’s good? Maybe. We’d watch an hour-long documentary about how this came to be.
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