The Click: Tantalizing Tats

By Vanshika Sharma

Call it a bid for exoticism. Or straining for diversity. Or a hankering for the mysterious, the foreign, the rococo. For whatever reason, celebrities have acquired the penchant for tattooing themselves with their sentiments of the week but in a language other than their native tongue. The most renowned case of this, of course, would be Ariana Grande and her “7 Rings” tattoo in Japanese. What a blazing, permanent success that was. Witherly Heights caught up with other famous folks who’ve branded themselves with tats that say exactly what they should and aren’t headscratchers at all. [If you want to know, the meaning of each tattoo is detailed at the end of the last photo.]

1. Pope Francis prayed for peace on Earth in a recent visit to Romania.

2. In an unusual self-serving feat, Taylor Swift immortalized her prolific songwriting skills in Cyrillic.

3. Ah, Lindsey Lohan, that reformed could-have-been.

4. Drake, always fiercely patriotic Canadian, this time in Spanish though.  

5. During Maroon 5’s Super Bowl performance, Adam Levine flashed his love for pets: a Hindi tattoo that said “kuttha.”  He thought the word’s connotations were rich.

6. Suddenly feeling nostalgic, Leonardo DiCaprio got an indelible reminder, in Tagalog, of his most famous movie.  He still thinks James Cameron should have given his character a choice.

7. By the way, Natalie Portman’s vegan now, just in case you can’t read Farsi.

What the tattoos actually mean: 1.  I am going to break your kneecaps. 2. I don’t know what to write.  3. Bad person success. 4. I don’t like maple syrup. 5. Dog–but growl it in a very derogatory way.  6. Sink or swim. 7. Cheese.