20 Celebrities Who Have Gotten Their Tattoos Removed

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Updated on Oct 29, 2024 at 5:15 PM

We've all made some questionable choices in our lifetime. For some of us, that means getting tattoos that we later regret. Celebrities aren't immune to this either. As a result, many stars have been open about the less-than-stellar ink that they're now tasked with getting removed. Pete Davidson, for example, recently gave fans an update on his tattoo collection and the decision to have his extensive — and we mean extensive — collection removed.

"I get my next treatment in like a month or so," he told People. "They said by the time I'm 30, they should all be gone. So they got like two more years left of this." According to Body Art Guru, Davidson has over 100 tattoos, most of which are tributes to past relationships and people who have inspired him, like that tattoo of Hillary Clinton. (Don't worry, the latter ink isn't going anywhere.)

Of course, while Pete Davidson's tattoo removal journey is one of the most recent ones that have sent fans into a frenzy, he definitely isn't the only famous person to have a tattoo (or two) removed. From Victoria Beckham to Khloé Kardashian to Pharrell Williams, read ahead to see celebrity tattoo removal before and afters.

Pete Davidson's Tattoo Removal

Before starting the removal process, Davidson had close to 100 tattoos. The designs primarily covered his arms and chest. However, a few years ago, Davidson revealed that he was in the process of having his tattoos removed because, it takes too long to cover them up in the makeup chair for film and TV roles.

While he will be removing a large majority from his collection, fans of the comedian can rest assured he will be keeping one: his nod to Hillary Clinton. In an interview with NPR, the former presidential candidate confirmed she had seen it, adding, "I was a little bit worried when he said he would start removing his tattoos but I saw him later and he assured me that one would stay."

Megan Fox's Tattoo Removal

Fox has quite a few tattoos. Though she still proudly wears some of them, she's started removing others. Back in 2012, Fox spoke briefly to Today about the painful process of having several designs removed. "Your skin sort of explodes and looks like little kernels of popcorn popping up," she said while speaking with the then-host of "The Tonight Show," Jay Leno. "They can't numb it enough to make the pain go away."

The first tattoo that the actress decided to remove was a portrait of Marilyn Monroe on her inner forearm since she frequently had to cover it up for different acting jobs.

"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 said. "And it's not that at all."

Angelina Jolie's Tattoo Removal

During the brief period of time that she was married to Billy Bob Thornton, Angelina Jolie got a tattoo of the actor's first name above a dragon on her shoulder. To the surprise of no one, Jolie had the ink removed when the two divorced in 2003.

Victoria Beckham's Tattoo Removal

Eagle-eyed fans first noticed a faded tattoo on Beckham's wrist in September 2022, noting that was where "DB" — the initials of longtime husband David Beckham — were once etched in cursive. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, as Allure reported that the designer has been slowly removing all her tattoos starting as early as 2017.

Pharrell Williams's Tattoo Removal

Williams took extraordinary measures to remove a few of his tattoos. In 2008, the artist had a skin graft — a surgical procedure that involves transplanting healthy skin from one part of the body to another — in addition to getting laser treatment for his arm tattoos.

Khloé Kardashian's Tattoo Removal

Back in 2017, the reality star and Good American founder shared a series of Snapchat videos showing herself in the process of removing a lower-back tattoo she got in honor of her late father, Robert Kardashian. According to ET, Kardashian got the tattoo when she was 16, and it features the word "daddy" in cursive with a cross and angel wings.

Heidi Klum's Tattoo Removal

In 2008, Klum had her then-husband Seal's name tattooed on her right forearm. The couple divorced in 2014, and according to People, the model has since had the tattoo removed.

Adrienne Bailon's Tattoo Removal

Early "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" fans may remember when the former "The Cheetah Girls" star got Rob Kardashian's full name tattooed on her butt. The two dated from 2007 to 2009, but Bailon had the tattoo removed after their relationship ended.

Kelly Osbourne's Tattoo Removal

In 2010, Osbourne revealed that she planned on having the majority of her 15 tattoos removed, citing some of them simply had no deeper meaning. "I was miserable and I just went and got all these tattoos and I don't know why," she said, according to Us. "One of them is a keyboard and I don't even know how to play a piano."

The star added: "As you get older, you realize that you don't want to be defined by your tattoos, because that's not the type of person that I am."

That was 10 years ago, but Osbourne isn't quite done with the removal process yet. Last year, she shared an Instagram gallery showing the progress so far, which included getting the aforementioned piano and the word "lovely" written in cursive taken off.

"Who else knows how bad this hurts," the caption reads. "It's 1000000000000 times worse then getting the tattoo!!!"

Jessica Alba's Tattoo Removal

Having regretted two of her tattoos, Alba removed the flower on the back of her neck that she got at 17 years old. "I'm so irritated that I got it lasered many times, and it's not coming out", Alba told Refinery29 in 2019.

Rose McGowan's Tattoo Removal

Rose McGowan hasn't gone into much detail about the pinup girl tattoo on her right shoulder blade, but at recent red carpet events, you can see the large design slowly disappear, and by 2007 it was practically gone.

Johnny Depp's Tattoo Removal

In the '90s, Depp got a sentimental tattoo saying "Winona Forever," reflective of his then, high-profile relationship with actress Winona Ryder. When they broke up, Depp had the design changed to "Wino Forever."

Melanie Griffith's Tattoo Removal

After her split with her husband, Antonio Banderas of nearly 20 years, Griffith removed the heart tattoo of his name from her upper arm.

Mark Wahlberg's Tattoo Removal

During an appearance on the "The Late Late Show With James Corden" in 2020, Wahlberg admitted to getting multiple tattoos removed for the sake of "maturity" and "sensibility." "I had, like, eight or nine, but it was like all the way around my neck, my stomach, my arms, my back, my leg," Wahlberg said.

Eva Longoria's Tattoo Removal

While married to San Antonio Spurs basketball star Tony Parker, Longoria got two tattoos for him — one being the word "nine" on her neck as an ode to his jersey number. After their tumultuous 2010 divorce, Longoria got the tattoos removed. Later in 2016, she also got a star wrist tattoo removed.

Nicole Richie's Tattoo Removal

During the first episode of her #CandidlyNicole web series era, Richie removed her "tramp stamp" of a cross from her lower back. "It just means a certain thing, and I don't want to be part of that group," Richie said to a nurse in the episode.

Hayden Panettiere's Tattoo Removal

In 2013, Panettiere removed a tattoo of the Italian phrase "Live without regrets," from her ribcage because it was misspelled.

Colin Farrell's Tattoo Removal

Colin Farrell had various tattoos on his arms and one on the front of his chest, but decided to remove them. "I'm getting rid of them because I got tired of getting painted in the makeup chair anytime I wear a T-shirt. It buys me an extra 45 minutes sleep in the morning," Farrell said on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" in 2019.

Danielle Jackson was a former assistant editor for PS Beauty.

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