Everything We Know About The Black Ink Crew Chicago Cast Fallout
Members of Chicago's tattoo scene have taken the reality TV world by storm since "Black Ink Crew Chicago" premiered in 2015. The show is a spinoff from the super-hit "Black Ink Crew" franchise, which documents the lives of ambitious tattoo artists who are trying to create a name for themselves in a highly competitive market. Storylines from the past seven successful seasons centered around the rise and fall of workers of 9MAG, an elite tattoo shop in the Windy City.
The hit series has become one of the most popular reality shows on VH1, according to The Cinemaholic. The want for more seasons is obvious, as "Black Ink Crew Chicago" has a higher demand than 91% of all reality titles in the United States, cites Parrot Analytics. However, no news has been released regarding the fate of another season. That means the reality show is either on a break, or filming for Season 8 just hasn't been officially scheduled yet.
It's no secret, however, that new episodes would come with lots of drama. Because competition is high, viewers have gotten to see many rivalries form between artists. It appears more rivalries have formed since Season 7 of "Black Ink Crew Chicago" ended.
Charmaine Bey quit Black Ink Crew Chicago
Since nothing has officially been released about Season 8 of "Black Ink Crew Chicago," we can't be exactly certain which artists will be back. However, it appears that one less familiar artist will be on the VH1 show if a new season were to come out. On March 18, original cast member Charmaine Bey told her one million Instagram followers she quit "Black Ink Crew Chicago." Charmaine explained to her fans, "I'm no longer working with 'TV tattoo artist,' unfollowed any phony person I use to deal with from the show, hired all dope tattoo artist who represent Chicago, and my haters will still say my shop isn't legit."
Charmaine decided to branch out and start her tattoo shop, 2nd City Ink, after Season 6, cites Atlanta Black Star. Since then, the main cast members of the reality series have been a combination of employees from 9MAG and 2nd City. Now it seems she's stepping aside to focus solely on her own tattoo shop and being a mom of two, per BET. The reality star gave birth to her second child on February 12.
To big news in the social media world, she no longer follows the owner of 9MAG and original cast member, Ryan Henry, according to Urban Belle. Charmaine's decision to leave "Black Ink Crew Chicago" was, in part, also due to her current rivalry with Ryan, which she laid out in an Instagram post.
What happened between Charmaine & Ryan?
It appears that Charmaine Bey and her former boss Ryan Henry aren't on the best of speaking terms at the moment. Days after announcing on Instagram she's quitting the cast of "Black Ink Crew Chicago," Charmaine made another post that took a jab at Ryan, whom she claims is "jealous" of her "success." Since Charmaine owns her own tattoo shop in Chicago, 2nd City Ink, it seems she and the 9MAG owner are in a bad state. Bey wrote, "It's the narcissism for me," adding "you rode our backs for the longest on 'your' show. I hope the guys can see how your [sic] not a real friend at all."
Charmaine ended her rant with, "Ima stop right here tho because the rest of the things I heard about you isn't for the internet. Sucks that I had to do this because I truly love your family and your staff but you're not about to continue to play me." Per a screenshot captured by The Shade Room, Ryan's response proved the two artists are certainly not friends right now, calling her message "sad." He also questioned her public digs adding, "Hating? Meltdowns? Jealous? Not never. Like C'mon man."
We hope to see the two Chicago tattoo shop owners make up, but it looks like we won't get to see it on our TV screens, since Charmaine declared she's done with "Black Ink Crew Chicago." She's not the only cast member to quit over not being able to get along with Ryan, either.
Van Johnson also left because of Ryan
Owner of 9MAG and original cast member of "Black Ink Crew Chicago" Ryan Henry was apparently part of the reason Charmaine Bey decided to step aside from the reality series after seven seasons. According to Charmaine, Ryan used to have "meltdowns with production asking why does the storyline always have to be" about her, per an Instagram post. It turns out Charmaine isn't the first cast member to call it quits over Ryan's bad attitude behind the scenes. Van Johnson, who's known as one of the OG members of the tattoo crew at 9MAG, also decided to abruptly quit for similar reasons after Season 6.
Similar to Charmaine's Instagram rant, Johnson called Ryan a "manipulative" boss during an appearance on "Black Ink Crew New York" (via Distractify). He said, "When we created that company, it was a good thing. After all the bull***t and six years later, I decided that I had enough and it was time to continue my life." Van also verified that he was "1,000%" done with Ryan, saying, "Sometimes when you're moving forward in life, you ain't got no time to take steps back."
Van has since moved on to help open up Black Ink Houston, as he "wanted to be a boss." With Charmaine now quitting, perhaps other longtime "Black Ink Crew Chicago" cast members might be looking to turn on Ryan, too.