‘Ashamed’ tourist in tears after tattoo from 'slurring' artist goes completely wrong

A woman who got a tattoo in Las Vegas ended up regretting it after the artist didn't draw the design she wanted.

The woman, named Melissa, and her 17-year-old son visited Illuminati Tattoo, located near the Las Vegas strip.

Her son was first to get a tattoo and after he'd had his ink Melissa decided she wanted to get one as well.

She decided to go for a complex design which would be needled onto her thigh, but according to 8NewsNow she claimed that the artist started 'sweating profusely' and 'slurring his words' while inking on the design.

They report that she said her son started to get confused about the design actually being inked onto her.

The tattoo she received. (8NewsNow)

"It was about halfway through when I looked at my son and his face, he just had a bit of a confused look on his face. He just had a bit of a worried look on his face," Melissa said of the moment she thought things started going wrong.

"At that point, I saw him take his phone out and start videoing.

"[The artist] was sweating profusely. His eyes were dilated. He was slurring his words. I can only imagine that he was on drugs, but I don't know for sure.

"He didn't clean the tattoo area. He didn't wrap it. He didn't tell me what to do for aftercare.

"I think I'm ashamed of myself and embarrassed. I was very, very upset."

She then said she was sent messages from the tattoo artist, claiming that the first message to her said: "I'm sorry it went this far."

This was the design she thought she was getting. (8NewsNow)

Another message she said she received asked her to call the parlour owner David LePenske, saying 'please call him and tell him you won’t ruin him'.

The owner reportedly agreed to pay for the tattoo to be removed by laser, and the woman claimed that he said the artist was a friend and former drug addict who had been eight months clean and given a chance.

When a complaint was filed with the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) an official said the artist had an expired body art card and Melissa hadn't signed any consent or release forms at the parlour.

According to the SNHD, LePenske later said the tattoo artist was no longer employed there and that they had zero tolerance for substance abuse while working.

LADbible has contacted Illuminati Tattoo, the Southern Nevada Health District and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police for comment.

Topics: Art, US News

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker