A tattoo artist has come under fire for giving a permanent tattoo to a nine-year-old girl, sparking widespread outrage after a video of the procedure went viral online.
The artist shared on social media that the young girl, accompanied by her parents, visited the shop to get an American flag tattoo. According to the post, her parents had brought her to the shop in Yuma, Arizona, from out of state.
Initially, the girl had requested a tattoo of former U.S. President Donald Trump on her neck. However, the artist persuaded her to opt for a more “patriotic” design, settling on an image of the American flag. A year later, now aged 10, the girl returned to the shop for a touch-up on the tattoo.
In the post accompanying the video, the artist explained:
"I convinced her to choose a more patriotic tattoo and told her to think about it for a year before deciding on a Trump portrait. She came back a year later saying, ‘I’m 10 now, can you touch up the red?’ She also changed her mind about the Trump tattoo.
"I even tried to dissuade them with a high price—$500 for an $80 tattoo—but they were more than willing to pay."
The video, which includes the sound of incoming Instagram notifications, quickly ignited a heated debate online.
Critics slammed the artist, with one TikTok user commenting:
"You are extremely unprofessional. Any artist with common sense would have refused her."
Another user, Caiti, added:
"When I was 19, I couldn’t get a hand tattoo without proving I was committed. Now you’re out here tattooing nine-year-olds. This is scummy."
A commenter named Ava wrote:
"This is actually crazy. You can refuse service to anyone. Trying to justify it by saying you charged a high price means nothing. I was turned away at 16 even with parental consent."
Defending his actions, the artist said:
"In Arizona, it’s legal to tattoo a child with parental consent, as long as it’s not forced and the child genuinely wants the tattoo. It’s not like I tattoo nine-year-olds every day."
He further explained that the girl’s family saw the tattoo as a tribute to their gratitude for living in the United States, viewing Donald Trump as a hero.
However, industry professionals have condemned the act. Ben Shaw, from the Alliance of Professional Tattooists, pointed out that while Arizona has lax regulations—requiring no license to be a tattoo artist—the lack of oversight does not justify unethical practices.
"Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right," Shaw told WBTV. "Seeing a professional tattoo on a 10-year-old child damages our reputation as an industry. It degrades us as a whole."
