Celebrity tattoos are all the rage, but when a teenage pop music singer gets a huge tattoo before eighteen years of age, the headlines typically rage. Parents who allow their children to get tatts while they are still growing often take flack for letting kids get inked up before they are old enough to make a wise decision about what artistic statement about themselves they want to permanently make. So why aren’t people outraged to hear Justin Bieber got a new tattoo — a huge portrait of Jesus on his leg (even if he is rolling his eyes)?
It’s official. Famous humanitarian pop star Justin Bieber is sporting some new ink that is sure to be a favorite of the Christian right. Spotted while walking on the beach with his dad in the middle of last week, he showed the world that not only does his family consider him a legal adult (and old enough to get a huge tattoo) but that he is full of Christian faith. That faith, apparently, is something that he knows won’t ever be shaken in this life.
Telling V magazine, “people need to know I’m not a kid anymore,” he readily admits he doesn’t feel “completely grown-up” just yet.
But, as US Weekly points out, “Unlike so many teen singers before him, Bieber hopes to maintain his squeaky clean image for at least a few more years.” So, while getting a new tattoo might make him feel all grown up, having it be a Christian theme tatt won’t wreck his celeb teen image yet.
Both Bieber and his celebrity dad are tattoo fans. Paparazzi photographers spotted the teen sensation with a clear image of none other than the son of God, Jesus Christ, tattooed clearly on the back of his left calf. The Biebs is an avowed Christian, and he has been quite forward about his faith. Now, he walks with his personal lord and savior ever day.
Fox News reported:
The black ink portrait, which is approximately about 5” tall, appears to be inspired by an illustration for “The Mysteries of the Crown of Thorns,” written by a Passionist Father in 1879.
Bieber and his dad have matching tattoos of the word Jesus written in Hebrew on their left rib cages, but the “Baby” singer has upped the ante. Will dad be sporting a new Jesus tat in the near future? We don’t know. The pair are close, but the star celeb may have wanted to distinguish himself and make a strong statement all his own.
He told the Associated Press, according to New York Daily News:
“I’m a Christian, I believe in God, I believe that Jesus died on a cross for my sins. I believe that I have a relationship and I’m able to talk to him and really, he’s the reason I’m here, so I definitely have to remember that. As soon as I start forgetting, I’ve got to click back and be like, you know, this is why I’m here.”
And if Jesus is his reminder to give back, it’s well worth the ink and the dedication. Bieber, who recently gave back to Whitney Elementary in Las Vegas to the tune of $200,000 in cash and Christmas gifts, is also a supporter of the Give Back Hollywood Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and many other humanitarian charities.
The Huffington Post asks if girlfriend Selena Gomez might get a matching tattoo to show her support (and shows off some other star celeb ink). So far, we’ve seen her only with “Justin” written on her wrist in Sharpie marker. Cute as it was, we wonder if she’s serious enough for permanent ink. But the famous celebrity couple really doesn’t need ink to show their love. They’re doing pretty well all by themselves, it seems.
Whatever his religious beliefs or taste in body art, this famous humanitarian is doing something right.
“I’m not going to try to conform to what people want me to be or go out there and start partying, have people see me with alcohol. I want to do it at my own pace,” says the under-aged Biebs. He turns 18 on March 1, 2012, so he is prepping his followers to deal with the fact that he won’t be a baby forever. With no eye-rolling involved, he also says. “I don’t want to start singing about things like sex, drugs and swearing. I’m into love, and maybe I’ll get more into making love when I’m older. But I want to be someone who is respected by everybody.”
The interesting thing to find out is whether or not as a devout Christian the Biebs will promote the abstinence until marriage thing. As cute and sweet as Selena Gomez is, that may be hard (no pun intended) for the celebrity teen.
Sadly, Justin Bieber’s Jesus tattoo looks like the religious figure is either rolling his eyes at the Biebs or looking up his shorts. With all that money, one would think someone — if not his parents — would have advised him to get a more flattering image to place on his body appropriately.