Whatever happened to the illustrated men and women of Hollywood? In a recent interview, singer and pop star Miley Cyrus revealed that she regrets “80 per cent” of her tattoos. Speaking to the camera, the 32-year-old explains: “A mistake that I made that I still think about... is that I regret about 80 per cent of my tattoos.”
She adds: “I don’t regret them enough to laser them, but some of them, like... I love my cat, but I didn’t need that [cat tattoo]. I love my dog but, I don’t know, having a pitbull in every picture for the rest of my life is kind of intense. There’s just a few I could do without.”
Many celebs do regret them enough to laser them, though. Earlier this year, Pete Davidson made the executive decision to remove around 200 of his tattoos for the hefty price of £200,000.
Davidson has explained that the process is partly due to his mental health. “I used to be a drug addict and I was a sad person, and I felt ugly and that I needed to be covered up. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with tattoos, but mine, when I look at them, I remember a sad person that was very unsure,” he told Variety this April.
Cyrus and Davidson aren’t the only hot, young celebs switching up their stance on tattoos, either. Gen Z favourite YouTuber and Met Gala interviewer Emma Chamberlain declared “irresponsible tattoos” as being “out” in 2024 via her ‘Anything Goes’ podcast, after she went through a period of attaining multiple tattoos in quick succession back in 2021.
She hasn’t publicly spoken about getting any removed, but this is a notable change in behaviour from one of the biggest faces on Gen Z’s Mount Rushmore.
Plus, tattoos are generally a lot less common among the world’s most famous faces and exciting new stars. While nearly every pop star in the early 2000s was sporting some kind of ink adornment, few 2020s megastars actually have prominent tattoos. And of the stars that do, they are increasingly placing them in areas that can be concealed by clothing (Billie Eilish) or covering them with body make-up (Ariana Grande).
Many of the tattooed icons of the 2000s no longer have the tattoos they were once famous for, and some have even publicly addressed their tattoo regrets (or “ragrets”, as per We Are The Millers).
Britney Spears has had her Kabbalah neck tattoo (have you ever heard anything more y2k) removed and has expressed a wish to ditch the double pink dice on her wrist. Mel C regrets her Celtic cross and armband. Megan Fox removed her “iconic” Marilyn Monroe tattoo in 2011, telling Jay Leno on The Tonight Show: “I was stubborn and I thought that I would love it forever, or that it would be like a book of my life, all the things that I loved when I was younger,” Fox told the late night host. “And it’s not that at all.”
In 2014, Pamela Anderson removed the barbed wire tattoo she had inked for her portrayal of Barb Wire back in 1996. And Eva Longoria’s lower back crucifix is part of the long list of tramp stamps to have undergone laser removal treatment.
“There are several factors driving this trend,” says Dr Dev Patel, a globally-reputed aesthetic physician and founder of Perfect Skin Solutions. “Societal perceptions around tattoos have evolved, while getting inked remains popular, there’s now less stigma around deciding to remove a tattoo.
“People’s lifestyles, careers, and personal preferences change, and they’re seeking treatments that align with who they are today. Additionally, technological advancements like PicoMax [the ultrafast laser utilised in Dr Patel’s practice] have made the process faster, more effective, and less painful, which has removed many of the barriers that once deterred people from pursuing tattoo removal.”
However, Patel does not think tattoos are going out of fashion — more that they’re no longer considered to be a lifelong commitment. “There’s a growing mindset that tattoos are no longer as permanent as they once were perceived,” he says. “The knowledge that advanced technology like the Pico laser exists gives people the freedom to make bolder choices, knowing they can reverse them if their tastes or circumstances change.
He adds: “It’s less about tattoos losing popularity and more about the rise of personal autonomy over body art. That all said, I would still advise someone to think of a tattoo as being permanent when making the decision to get one and to duly consider it before taking the step!”
