A woman on TikTok says she had a panic attack after her tattoo artist talked inappropriately about her body while she was topless.
The TikToker (@user7k5j7zhz9z) shared a video she recorded from her car after ending her appointment with the artist. She says she got up in the middle of her appointment, paid the artist, and left.
The woman explains in the video that she met the tattoo artist at the gym when he approached her about her tattoos. He offered his business card and the two exchanged information, she says.
After looking up the artist’s work on Instagram, she says she decided to book an appointment with him because she liked his work and wanted to get a new tattoo on her stomach.
Since the tattoo was going to be on her stomach, the TikToker says she had to remove her shirt and only had pasties over her nipples.
“He just starts talking about how unsymmetrical I was; he started calling my boobs ‘tits,’” the TikToker says in the video. “But the last straw (was when) I turned around and he goes ‘Ah, I get why I see you in the gym all the time. You got back rolls.’”
The TikToker stops and looks away before asking the camera, “Am I crazy?”
The video received about 3.8 million views and more than 7,500 comments as of Tuesday. Viewers reassured the TikToker that she definitely wasn’t “crazy” and encouraged her to “blast” the artist for his comments.
“No. That man was all the way out of line. I’d be blasting his name to warn other women,” one viewer commented on the video.
“Not being the dramatic. That was not okay,” another viewer commented.
“He was out of line. Glad you left,” someone else said.
Some viewers said they would have spoken to the owner of the tattoo studio, and others insisted that professionalism is highly important for tattoo artists to have.
“Nah I would complain to the owner of the shop, he can’t be saying stuff like that to anyone!!!” one user said.
Another user wrote, “As a tattooer, professionalism is of the utmost caliber. You were in a vulnerable state, so You’re NOT being anything, but reacting appropriately.”
Some viewers said they wouldn’t have even paid the artist, but one user disagreed, saying, “Pls don’t shame her for paying him. We all know how unpredictable & dangerous some men can be. She didn’t want to risk angering him.”
The TikTok video seems to have prompted a barrage of comments on the alleged artist’s Instagram posts. The comments range from trash can emoji to ridicule of the tattoo the artist posted. Some Instagram users left warnings for other women perusing his page.
“If you’re a woman. Beware. This man will fat shame you and inappropriately talk to you,” one user commented.
In a second TikTok video, the TikToker says she felt guilty after posting the original video because she didn’t want to ruin his livelihood. However, after the video went viral, she received an outpouring of support on various social media platforms. She says several other women told her that the artist had also made them uncomfortable by talking about their bodies or asking for rides.
The Daily Dot reached out to the TikToker via TikTok comment and to the tattoo artist she named via Instagram direct message.
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