Tattoo Fixers star Jay Hutton has blamed George Clooney for sparking the “worst” tattoo trend thanks to the large tribal inking seen on the actor’s arm in the film From Dusk Till Dawn.
The celebrity tattoo artist said he is not a fan of the bold look, a style that took hold in the late 1990s among many ink-lovers and one Jay claimed many of his customers regret today.
He told the Press Association: “Black tribal tattoos are the worst things. They went through a stage, it all started – I think – with From Dusk Till Dawn, with George Clooney with a big tribal thing up his arm.
“He started the craze, the big black lines on the arms.”
“To see that now – I don’t personally know anybody that is happy with it that has one. I think they all realise it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, from that era.”
Jay rose to fame on E4′s Tattoo Fixers, a reality show in which clients with unwanted inkings go into their studio to have it covered up or amended.
But he said tribal tattoos are among “the hardest to cover up” and urged those wishing to get inked to not copy the looks of their favourite celebrities, something he sees all too often.
“A lot of people who get tattoos copy other people. I remember years ago when David Beckham got his angel sleeve and it was massive at the time, and I know a lot of people copied him,” he said.
“They wanted the same sleeve and that’s not personal to you, and obviously it is a permanent thing you have to live with for the rest of your life. That tattoo obviously means something to David Beckham but it probably doesn’t mean anything to the guy down the road who has just copied him.”
He is to lend his expertise in the body art arena to new E4 series Tattoo Artist Of The Year, in which he and renowned tattoo artist Rose Hardy will put 10 professional tattooists against each other to see will be crowned the best in the country.
Each episode will see the competitors battle it out in two challenges across various different styles.
Tattoo Artist Of The Year starts on Tuesday April 4 at 9pm on E4.
