A 9-year-old needed a Donald Trump tattoo, however was talked right into a flag as an alternative. Now, the artist is defending his work | EUROtoday

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A tattoo artist in Yuma, Arizona is defending his choice to tattoo an American flag on a 9-year-old woman after a video of the inking stoked outrage on social media.

The tattoo artist, who goes by the identify Sosa, is part proprietor of Black Onyx Empire Tattoo in Yuma. He obtained an odd request; a household from out of state flew into Arizona to get their 9-year-old daughter a tattoo.

Initially, the woman needed a tattoo of Donald Trump on her neck, however Sosa advised AZ Family that he satisfied her as an alternative to get one thing extra patriotic — an American flag.

A video of Sosa giving the woman the tattoo blew up on social media and launched a debate over whether or not or not it was proper to tattoo a toddler, even along with her guardian’s permission. The video was shot in 2023, and the woman returned in 2024 to get a touch-up on her tattoo.

Sosa defended himself within the wake of the controversy, saying “it’s not like I tattoo 9-year-olds everyday.”

He stated his typical minimal age is 15 with parental consent, however he stated the youthful woman was an exception to his typical rule.

“I’m getting a lot of hate from it. My employees are getting hate from it. My business, I’m getting so many bad reviews on Google,” he stated.

Sosa did not break the regulation by inking the kid; beneath Arizona regulation, it’s authorized to tattoo a toddler with the consent and within the presence of their dad and mom or guardians.

The artist insisted that there was extra to the story than what’s being shared on-line.

According to him, the household was a from Turkey, and advised him that it was a convention of their household to get tattoos.

“They were just very grateful to be here in the United States. They were just being grateful. They said they saw Donald Trump as a hero,” Sosa advised AZ Family. “Being an artist and businessman, you additionally need to know the cultures [clients] come from.”

He said he did not regret his decision, and emphasized that tattooing children that young is not typical of him or his shop.

“I do not tattoo my children. I’m not selling children to come back and get tattoos,” he said.

He said that “any publicity is sweet publicity,” and dismissed the controversy as little greater than a typical social media debate.