Celebrities Who Removed Their Tattoos (or Just Regret Them!)

Mar. 15, 2025

Tattoos can be a permanent reminder of the person you love. They canalsobe a permanent reminder of a crazy night out you can’t remember, an ex you’d rather forget, or even just the power of careful copy-editing.These 25 celebrities have opened up about having to rethink their ink for a variety of reasons. Whether they no longer relate to an image they loved when they were young, split from someone who inspired a name tattoo somewhere intimate or realized (too late!) that there was a typo, see why celebrities including Christina Hall, Megan Fox, Olivia Wilde and Blake Shelton have had tattoo regrets.

Tattoos can be a permanent reminder of the person you love. They canalsobe a permanent reminder of a crazy night out you can’t remember, an ex you’d rather forget, or even just the power of careful copy-editing.

These 25 celebrities have opened up about having to rethink their ink for a variety of reasons. Whether they no longer relate to an image they loved when they were young, split from someone who inspired a name tattoo somewhere intimate or realized (too late!) that there was a typo, see why celebrities including Christina Hall, Megan Fox, Olivia Wilde and Blake Shelton have had tattoo regrets.

01of 26

Christina Hall

Christina Hall/Instagram (2)

The Tattoo:A wedding ring inked around her left hand’s ring finger, in honor of her marriage to Joshua Hall —which ended in July 2024, nearly three years after they tied the knot.

02of 26Megan FoxSplashNews.com; Jesse.tattoo/InstagramThe Tattoo:The word “Brian” written in elaborate script on her pelvis in tribute to ex-husband Brian Austin Green, two whom she was married from 2010 to 2021.The Status:Inked over with a serpentine and floral design that incorporates cosmic elements. “Was able to completely hide the old tattoo underneath the new snake and flowers she wanted,“wrote artist Jesse Krydick on the reveal photo. “Thanks for your trust @meganfox.”

02of 26

Megan Fox

SplashNews.com; Jesse.tattoo/Instagram

The Tattoo:The word “Brian” written in elaborate script on her pelvis in tribute to ex-husband Brian Austin Green, two whom she was married from 2010 to 2021.

The Status:Inked over with a serpentine and floral design that incorporates cosmic elements. “Was able to completely hide the old tattoo underneath the new snake and flowers she wanted,“wrote artist Jesse Krydick on the reveal photo. “Thanks for your trust @meganfox.”

03of 26Olivia Wildeolivia wilde/instagram; gettyThe Tattoo:A “really bad one” she got when she was 13 of a dragon on her right butt cheek (which she called an “ass stamp"when recounting the story to Craig Ferguson). “I was in New York City and I thought it was a great idea, it had a lot of meaning at the time but now it’s hideous.“The Status:Still there and worth celebrating! In March 2023, the actress gave her followers a good look at the ink in a 39th birthday post,which she captioned, “39 and feeling fine … Here’s to whatever’s next. Probably not another tramp stamp but who knows.”

03of 26

Olivia Wilde

olivia wilde/instagram; getty

The Tattoo:A “really bad one” she got when she was 13 of a dragon on her right butt cheek (which she called an “ass stamp"when recounting the story to Craig Ferguson). “I was in New York City and I thought it was a great idea, it had a lot of meaning at the time but now it’s hideous.”

The Status:Still there and worth celebrating! In March 2023, the actress gave her followers a good look at the ink in a 39th birthday post,which she captioned, “39 and feeling fine … Here’s to whatever’s next. Probably not another tramp stamp but who knows.”

04of 26

Kal Penn

The Kelly Clarkson Show (2)

The Tattoo:The actor wanted to get a meaningful tattoo when he turned 40, so after having his genealogy traced on the showFinding Your Roots,he chose to ink R1A-M147, representing his maternal haplogroup (which links your DNA to millions of others going back to the same common ancestor) on his arm.

The Status:After enduring some ribbing from his partner Josh, Penn decided to keep it. “It’s a good story,“he told Kelly Clarkson on her talk show.

05of 26Shanna MoaklerDenise Truscello/WireImage; Shanna Moakler/InstagramThe Tattoo:Though they split way back in 2008, the model and actress had ex-husband Travis Barker’s name inked on her wrist until recently.The Status:In May 2021,amidst Barker’s PDA-packed romance with Kourtney Kardashian,Moakler shared a video of herself getting his name lasered off. “It’s my ex’s name,” Moakler said in the clip. “Don’t tattoo names on your body, kids.”

05of 26

Shanna Moakler

Denise Truscello/WireImage; Shanna Moakler/Instagram

The Tattoo:Though they split way back in 2008, the model and actress had ex-husband Travis Barker’s name inked on her wrist until recently.

The Status:In May 2021,amidst Barker’s PDA-packed romance with Kourtney Kardashian,Moakler shared a video of herself getting his name lasered off. “It’s my ex’s name,” Moakler said in the clip. “Don’t tattoo names on your body, kids.”

06of 26Hailey BieberHailey Bieber/Instagram; John Shearer/GettyThe Tattoo:One of the model’s 20+ tattoos is a handgun on her middle finger she got when she was 18. “I was like, ‘Yeah! That looks cool,’ “she toldElle.“But now, as a 24-year-old, I would never do that. I think guns are violent.“The Status:Still there. “It is what it is,“she wrote on Instagram in 2015.

06of 26

Hailey Bieber

Hailey Bieber/Instagram; John Shearer/Getty

The Tattoo:One of the model’s 20+ tattoos is a handgun on her middle finger she got when she was 18. “I was like, ‘Yeah! That looks cool,’ “she toldElle.“But now, as a 24-year-old, I would never do that. I think guns are violent.”

The Status:Still there. “It is what it is,“she wrote on Instagram in 2015.

07of 26

Eva Longoria

Eva Longoria/Instagram; Kevin Winter/Getty

The Status:“🤦🏻‍♀️ (It has since been removed!)” she wrote in the Instagram caption.

08of 26

MARK WAHLBERG

Getty Images (2)

The Tattoo:Early on in his career, the formerMarky Mark and the Funky Bunchfrontman was rarely spotted with his shirt on. Wahlberg flaunted his famous muscular figure — and eye-catching arm tattoos — on stage and on screen throughout the ’90s and early 2000s. On one bicep, he tattooed a portrait of reggae legendBob Marleyand on the other, he inked his initials and last name in large, ombré font.The Departedactor once said,“all the tattoos have meaning to me,“before getting them removed in the mid-2000s.

Wahlberg recently toldE! Newsabout the painful removal process — which he’s already warned hisSpenser ConfidentialcostarPost Maloneabout: “I told him, eventually he’s gonna want to remove his and it’s gonna be painful,” he said. “It’s more painful taking them off.”

09of 26TALLULAH WILLISTallulah Willis/InstagramThe Tattoo:After getting some ink on her left arm when she was “20 and impulsive,” she decided toundergo the removal process, telling a fan on Instagram she didn’t “understand the word ‘permanent’” at the time.The Status:Gone! In Feb. 2020 the star shared an Instagram photo of her arm in a white bandage. “TATTOOS R FUN UNTIL THER [sic] NOT ~~,” Tallulah, 26,captioned the post, from inside LaserAway — a laser hair and tattoo removal clinic in Beverly Hills.“Thankful that magic erasers for skeen exists @laseraway *disclaimer my arms are burning as deep as my ego, but it really does work,” Tallulah added.

09of 26

TALLULAH WILLIS

Tallulah Willis/Instagram

The Tattoo:After getting some ink on her left arm when she was “20 and impulsive,” she decided toundergo the removal process, telling a fan on Instagram she didn’t “understand the word ‘permanent’” at the time.

The Status:Gone! In Feb. 2020 the star shared an Instagram photo of her arm in a white bandage. “TATTOOS R FUN UNTIL THER [sic] NOT ~~,” Tallulah, 26,captioned the post, from inside LaserAway — a laser hair and tattoo removal clinic in Beverly Hills.

“Thankful that magic erasers for skeen exists @laseraway *disclaimer my arms are burning as deep as my ego, but it really does work,” Tallulah added.

10of 26SARAH HYLANDSarah Hyland/InstagramThe Tattoo:Back in 2017, the actress got a dinosaur tattoo on her butt with her bestie Katie Welch.The Status:In Nov. 2019, she shared aselfieduring the tattoo removal process from inside the doctor’s office. Though Hyland “believe[d] in dinosaurs"two years ago, the pain of her laser tattoo removal is much more real now.

10of 26

SARAH HYLAND

Sarah Hyland/Instagram

The Tattoo:Back in 2017, the actress got a dinosaur tattoo on her butt with her bestie Katie Welch.

The Status:In Nov. 2019, she shared aselfieduring the tattoo removal process from inside the doctor’s office. Though Hyland “believe[d] in dinosaurs"two years ago, the pain of her laser tattoo removal is much more real now.

11of 26Jessica AlbaGetty (3)The Tattoo:The actress has multiple tattoos but says she regrets “maybe two,“she tells Refinery 29: one that’s “kind of a tramp stamp” of a bow on her lower back (not pictured) and an image of flowers on her neck that “I got when I was, like, 17 and I’m so irritated that I got it.“The Status:Still there, despite her best efforts (you can see it faintly in the lower right image). “I got it lasered many times and it’s not coming out,” she says.

11of 26

Jessica Alba

Getty (3)

The Tattoo:The actress has multiple tattoos but says she regrets “maybe two,“she tells Refinery 29: one that’s “kind of a tramp stamp” of a bow on her lower back (not pictured) and an image of flowers on her neck that “I got when I was, like, 17 and I’m so irritated that I got it.”

The Status:Still there, despite her best efforts (you can see it faintly in the lower right image). “I got it lasered many times and it’s not coming out,” she says.

12of 26Jessie JJessie J.Jessie J/InstagramThe Tattoo:The singer got her own lyrics inked on her hip when she was 18. Just one problem: She misspelled a key word.The Status:Still there! “Yes my tattoo says… don’t loose who you are in the blur of the stars. Yes they are MY lyrics from my song who you are,“she wrote on Instagram, adding that she still doesn’t know the difference between loose and lose. “Yes It’s the reason I wear everything high waisted.”

12of 26

Jessie J

Jessie J.Jessie J/Instagram

The Tattoo:The singer got her own lyrics inked on her hip when she was 18. Just one problem: She misspelled a key word.

The Status:Still there! “Yes my tattoo says… don’t loose who you are in the blur of the stars. Yes they are MY lyrics from my song who you are,“she wrote on Instagram, adding that she still doesn’t know the difference between loose and lose. “Yes It’s the reason I wear everything high waisted.”

13of 26ARIANA GRANDEAriana Grande/Instagram; Kevin Mazur/Getty ImagesThe Tattoo:She had to keep breathin' through the pain when her initial attempt at inking “7 Rings” in Japanese characters on her palm didn’t quite work out as planned, ending up with something that translated more closely to “tiny charcoal grill” - and sending her back for a fix.The Status:After some consultation,she ended up with the “slightly better” version above, though she noted, “I actually really liked” the botched first tattoo.

13of 26

ARIANA GRANDE

Ariana Grande/Instagram; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

The Tattoo:She had to keep breathin' through the pain when her initial attempt at inking “7 Rings” in Japanese characters on her palm didn’t quite work out as planned, ending up with something that translated more closely to “tiny charcoal grill” - and sending her back for a fix.

The Status:After some consultation,she ended up with the “slightly better” version above, though she noted, “I actually really liked” the botched first tattoo.

14of 26KHLOÉ KARDASHIANMarion Curtis/REX/Shutterstock; SPOT / BACKGRID; Khloe KardashianThe Tattoo:Aself-professed “tramp stamp” tribute to her late fatherover a cross on her lower back. “I should’ve listened to [sister] Kim when she told me ‘You don’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley’,“Khloé wrote on Instagram.The Status:Zapped away,thanks to a few sessions with Dr. Ourian and Nurse Jamie.

14of 26

KHLOÉ KARDASHIAN

Marion Curtis/REX/Shutterstock; SPOT / BACKGRID; Khloe Kardashian

The Tattoo:Aself-professed “tramp stamp” tribute to her late fatherover a cross on her lower back. “I should’ve listened to [sister] Kim when she told me ‘You don’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley’,“Khloé wrote on Instagram.

The Status:Zapped away,thanks to a few sessions with Dr. Ourian and Nurse Jamie.

15of 26AMY SCHUMERAmy Schumer/Instagram; Inset: Kevin Winter/GettyThe Tattoo:An artistic design that inspired the title of her book,The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo.The Status:Still there, whether you like it or not: #yesiknowmytattoosucks was one of the hashtags she used forthis photo.

15of 26

AMY SCHUMER

Amy Schumer/Instagram; Inset: Kevin Winter/Getty

The Tattoo:An artistic design that inspired the title of her book,The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo.

The Status:Still there, whether you like it or not: #yesiknowmytattoosucks was one of the hashtags she used forthis photo.

16of 26JUSTIN BIEBERGQThe Tattoo:While the majority of Bieber’s tattoos have religious meaning, he does have a few dedicated to important people in his life … includingformer flame Selena Gomez, who is drawn on his wrist.The Status:“This is my ex-girlfriend, so I tried to cut her face up with some shading, but people still know,” Bieber toldGQ.

16of 26

JUSTIN BIEBER

GQ

The Tattoo:While the majority of Bieber’s tattoos have religious meaning, he does have a few dedicated to important people in his life … includingformer flame Selena Gomez, who is drawn on his wrist.

The Status:“This is my ex-girlfriend, so I tried to cut her face up with some shading, but people still know,” Bieber toldGQ.

17of 26KALEY CUOCOCourtesy Norman Cook; FOX/GettyThe Tattoo:Cuoco’s romance with ex-husband Ryan Sweeting was a whirlwind, with their entire courtship, engagement, weddinganda tattoo commemorating the event’s date in Roman numerals taking place within a year. The ink, however, lasted longer than the marriage.The Status:Two months after announcing her divorce, Cuoco begantaking stepsto get rid of the reminders of her marriage. That included the tattoo, which she covered up with somenewink: An insect, whose “deep, meaningful, larger than life meaning” was to “cover the last one,” she joked on Instagram. “note to self- do not mark your body with any future wedding dates #under30mistakes #donttakeyourselftooseriouslykids,” she added in aseparate post.

17of 26

KALEY CUOCO

Courtesy Norman Cook; FOX/Getty

The Tattoo:Cuoco’s romance with ex-husband Ryan Sweeting was a whirlwind, with their entire courtship, engagement, weddinganda tattoo commemorating the event’s date in Roman numerals taking place within a year. The ink, however, lasted longer than the marriage.

The Status:Two months after announcing her divorce, Cuoco begantaking stepsto get rid of the reminders of her marriage. That included the tattoo, which she covered up with somenewink: An insect, whose “deep, meaningful, larger than life meaning” was to “cover the last one,” she joked on Instagram. “note to self- do not mark your body with any future wedding dates #under30mistakes #donttakeyourselftooseriouslykids,” she added in aseparate post.

18of 26JENNIFER LAWRENCEWireImage (2)The Tattoo:It’s a tiny hand tattoo that reads H2O – but not in the proper chemical notation. Don’t worry, she knows. “I was with Liam [Hemsworth]’s family and everybody was getting tattoos, and I was like, well, I’m always going to need to be hydrated, so I guess I should get H2O on my hand,“she told HitFix. “By the way, I know that the two is high and in H2O the two is supposed to be low. I should’ve Googled it before I got it tattooed on my body forever.“The Status:It’s still there, but so faint it’s nearly impossible to see. “It’s literally the most unrebellious tattoo that anybody could ever get,” she commented.

18of 26

JENNIFER LAWRENCE

WireImage (2)

The Tattoo:It’s a tiny hand tattoo that reads H2O – but not in the proper chemical notation. Don’t worry, she knows. “I was with Liam [Hemsworth]’s family and everybody was getting tattoos, and I was like, well, I’m always going to need to be hydrated, so I guess I should get H2O on my hand,“she told HitFix. “By the way, I know that the two is high and in H2O the two is supposed to be low. I should’ve Googled it before I got it tattooed on my body forever.”

The Status:It’s still there, but so faint it’s nearly impossible to see. “It’s literally the most unrebellious tattoo that anybody could ever get,” she commented.

19of 26NICOLE RICHIEGetty (2); Warner Bros; Splash News OnlineThe Tattoo:Multiple, actually: Nicole Richie has expressed regret forher “butt-crack cross”, “Virgin” wrist ink (she’s a Virgo, and she was 16 when she got it) and “Richie” neck tatt (“I was a 19-year-old idiot when I got this one”).The Status:She’svisited L.A.’s Dr. Tattoffto have the “tramp stamp” (her words!) removed, but the others remain.

19of 26

NICOLE RICHIE

Getty (2); Warner Bros; Splash News Online

The Tattoo:Multiple, actually: Nicole Richie has expressed regret forher “butt-crack cross”, “Virgin” wrist ink (she’s a Virgo, and she was 16 when she got it) and “Richie” neck tatt (“I was a 19-year-old idiot when I got this one”).

The Status:She’svisited L.A.’s Dr. Tattoffto have the “tramp stamp” (her words!) removed, but the others remain.

20of 26ADAM LEVINEThe Tattoo:A Russian prisoner-inspired tattoo on his right shoulder that he has tried to improve to no avail. Hetold Anderson Cooperthat the finished result looks like “a cauliflower with a sun in the middle of it. It’s just despicable-looking.“The Status:Still there, because he doesn’t want to cover any of his ink up.

20of 26

ADAM LEVINE

The Tattoo:A Russian prisoner-inspired tattoo on his right shoulder that he has tried to improve to no avail. Hetold Anderson Cooperthat the finished result looks like “a cauliflower with a sun in the middle of it. It’s just despicable-looking.”

The Status:Still there, because he doesn’t want to cover any of his ink up.

21of 26

DEMI LOVATO

GC Images; Courtesy Demi Lovato; Inset: GC Images

The Tattoo:A rendering of her friend’s lips thatshe calleda “spur of the moment, stupid decision” in 2012, then redubbed a “vagina tattoo” when shecovered it upa few years later.

22of 26KELLY OSBOURNEDonato Sardella/WireImageThe Tattoo:Most of them, actually, though she started withthe keyboard on her right forearm. “I did the crime I am now doing the time!” she wrote to accompany the video of the removal.The Status:It’s fully gone, along with many of her other tattoos – though she’ll occasionally addnew ones in surprising places.

22of 26

KELLY OSBOURNE

Donato Sardella/WireImage

The Tattoo:Most of them, actually, though she started withthe keyboard on her right forearm. “I did the crime I am now doing the time!” she wrote to accompany the video of the removal.

The Status:It’s fully gone, along with many of her other tattoos – though she’ll occasionally addnew ones in surprising places.

23of 26

MEGAN FOX

Kevin Winter/NBCUniversal/Getty

24of 26

BLAKE SHELTON

Trae Patton/NBC/Getty

The Status:Still there!

25of 26

HAYDEN PANETTIERE

Splash News Online

The Tattoo:An Italian phrase that would have meant “Live without regrets” … if it were spelled correctly.

26of 26ADRIENNE BAILONPacific Coast News; Inset: PictureGroupThe Tattoo:An inscription of her ex-boyfriend’s name on her butt, whichshe called “ratchet.“As she put it, “Ten letter last name, Kardashian. I made a very bad decision!“The Status:Though Bailon said she made it small and almost impossible to spot, she started getting it removed in 2013. “You can smell your flesh burning,” she shared.

26of 26

ADRIENNE BAILON

Pacific Coast News; Inset: PictureGroup

The Tattoo:An inscription of her ex-boyfriend’s name on her butt, whichshe called “ratchet.“As she put it, “Ten letter last name, Kardashian. I made a very bad decision!”

The Status:Though Bailon said she made it small and almost impossible to spot, she started getting it removed in 2013. “You can smell your flesh burning,” she shared.

source: people.com