Why You'll Never See Kim Kardashian Get A Tattoo
There's no denying that Kim Kardashian is a trendsetter when it comes to fashion. Whether it's being on the front line of beauty with her KKW beauty brand or being on the cutting edge of shapewear with her company SKIMS, the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star can seemingly make any fad a big seller.
So, you might be wondering, has the woman who has probably graced more Met Galas, Paris Fashion Weeks, and red carpets than Anna Wintour embraced the art of the tattoo? It would stand to reason that she might, considering that tattoo body art has changed over the past couple decades, evolving from the mark of a gritty subculture to a haute-couture right of passage. Not to mention the fact that everyone around her is getting them and loving them (er ... for the most part).
As far as we can tell, this Kardashian doesn't think of ink. Here's the scoop on why you'll never see a tattoo on Kim.
Kim Kardashian compared herself to a luxury car
Waaaaaay back in 2009, Kim Kardashian and her sister Khloé Kardashian appeared on "The Wendy Williams Show," and in a now infamous moment, Kim was asked about her stance on tattoos. It started off with Khloé showing off her hand and wrist tattoos — one of which was the initials of her then-husband Lamar Odom and the other was the phrase "I love you" written in her late father Robert Kardashian's handwriting.
Kim cut in to say she was "tatt-free" and when pressed by host Wendy Williams, she slyly quipped, "Honey, would you put a bumper sticker on a Bentley?" The audience cheered and clapped, but uh, Kim? Khloé is *right there*. She tried to save the moment by saying that ethos didn't apply to her younger sister, calling her a "Ferrari," but still. Awk-warrrd.
2009 was a long time ago, so has her stance changed in the years since?
Kim Kardashian is okay with rub-on tatts
In September 2021, Kim Kardashian took to Instagram to share a shot featuring her eldest daughter North West, which showed the two rocking a face full of fake tattoos. In the post, it's clear that North is holding a roll of stickers, and her face and neck are covered with the temporary ink — smiley faces, diamonds, and sun beams galore. Kim wasn't completely covered in the fake ink, opting instead for a broken heart, a mandala, and a honey bee, among other stickers.
In the second slide of the post, Kim is joined by her niece Penelope, daughter of sister Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick, who also opted for a few choice rub-ons. In both pictures, Kim is smiling or pulling a funny face, so it seems safe to assume she was enjoying being sorta-inked. Captioning the post simply with "TATS," it would appear that as long as they're not permanent, Kim doesn't mind the occasional bumper sticker.
Khloé Kardashian admits she should have listened to Kim
Remember when Khloé Kardashian showed off her hand tattoo of Lamar Odom's initials? Yeah, that is reportedly long gone. Years after their joint interview on "The Wendy Williams Show," Khloé credited big sister Kim Kardashian with warning her about the perils of impulse-buying tattoos.
In 2015, Khloé took to her Instagram page to share a video of her removing what she called a "tramp stamp," and noted that she should have listened to her older, wiser sister about the whole bumper sticker/Bentley debacle. "Got this bad boy when I was 16 ....," she captioned the video, which showed a tattoo removal in progress. "Not so cute anymore I should've listened to Kim when she told me 'you don't put a bumper sticker on a Bentley.' Bye-bye bumper sticker!!!"
With big sister Kourtney now engaged to heavily-tattooed rockstar Travis Barker, and even giving the Blink-182 drummer a tattoo herself, it seems like tattoos will always be around Kim. That being said, she appears to be staying true to her word and keeping them off of her skin.