TikTok's viral 'tattoogate' drama blamed on 'communication skills'

A tattoo artist is being slammed on TikTok after they charged a client an eye-watering price for changes they made to a design they had done wrong.

As a permanent piece of art on your skin, most would agree that you have to be happy with the design of your tattoo given by your artist before going ahead with getting the piece.

But, one woman was left shocked after being charged a ridiculous “design fee” by a tattoo artist who had not fulfilled her original request during a consultation, which she was also charged for.

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The drama unfolded in a series of TikTok videos by @running_mom_of_boys, who explained what happened. One video has been viewed over 5.3 million times in what has been dubbed “tattoogate”.

What is tattoogate?

Tattoogate began when the TikToker approached a tattoo artist she liked on Instagram and explained during a non-refundable Zoom consultation (that cost $180) that she wanted a tattoo of a fox running, with some additional flowers in there.

The artist, who the TikToker has kept anonymous, explained there were three design fee options $1500 plus tax, $3500 plus tax and $6000 plus tax.

She went with the cheapest option, which the artist said would mean she would get one concept drawing and would be able to make one minor change as part of the price.

When the artist sent the concept sketch, @running_mom_of_boys claimed it was nothing like she asked for and the tattoo artist said she would have to pay $2260 for a new sketch.

The woman explained: “She (the artist) said it was my fault that I wasn’t clear that I wanted a full fox. But these are the two pictures that I sent her – both full fox, both in the same position. I don’t know how much clearer I could have been.”

In the following videos, the TikToker claimed the artist blamed the mishap on her “communication skills”.

The TikToker then shared screengrabs of emails sent between the two of them in which the tattoo artist claimed the design fee was an “optional service”, of which the TikToker claimed she was never made aware.

The tattoo artist refused to refund the woman the design fee, the consultation fee or the $1000 deposit she paid ahead of time.

Another tattoo artist who saw the drama unfold offered to tattoo the TikToker for free and, in lieu, the client explained she will make a donation to a fox charity instead.

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