This tattoo wasn’t just a design…it was a family legacy passed down through generations.So when the client brought the exact photo to the artist, the instructions were simple: copy it precisely.

Everything looked perfect…until a great-grandmother spotted two extra letters the client definitely didn’t request.

Turns out the artist secretly slipped their initials into the piece, and justified it as “trad.”

AITA for getting mad my artist hid their initials in my tattoo?

I went to a tattoo shop in my area, with a photo of the tattoo I wanted.

It was one my dad had gotten to honor my passed grandfather who’s father also had it.

But the point is – it was important to me that the tattoo looked EXACTLY as it did in the photo.

Of course.

I get to the shop, I explain everything, I pay, get the tattoo, and we’re done, I think it looks awesome, everything is great!

Until a few weeks later when I show my great grandmother the tattoo. She’s static, grabs my arm to look at and compliment it, then asks, “Who’s AJ?”

I ask her what she means, and she points out on the tattoo where the initials A and J or maybe T were hidden into the tattoo.

Wow.

I’m instantly angry, as my artists name is Alice Trever. She tries to assure me it’s no big deal if I hadn’t noticed it til now, but I still reached out to the artist sort of irritated.

They told me the style of art I got is called traditional and it’s “pretty trad” for all artists who do that style to do it.

I demanded a partial refund and they refused, so I complained to the owner who made the artist give me a full refund.

Thank goodness.

Now the artist is running a full smear campaign, talking about moving shops, and all kinds of c***.

My sister says I’m an a****** for pushing the issue, but I feel like, at the end of the day, I told you exactly what I wanted and you didn’t do that. AITA?

Reddit largely agreed that consent matters when it comes to permanent ink, and modifying a memorial tattoo without permission crosses a line. A refund wasn’t unreasonable—the breach of trust was.

This person says this is NOT okay.

This person says this is wrong on all accounts.

And this person agrees…and thinks publicly shaming them is the best recovery.

Moral of the story is…

When it comes to tattoos, “artist’s signature” should never mean “surprise graffiti on your skin.”

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.