The Arizona tattoo artist slammed for inking a nine-year-old girl justified his actions by claiming the child and her family are Turkish.
The artist, who goes by the name Sosa, is part owner of Black Onyx Empire Tattoo shop in Yuma where the girl traveled with her family to get a portrait of Donald Trump on her neck.
Sosa, who shared video of the inking process, said he persuaded her to do a ‘more patriotic tattoo’ instead – of a US flag on her arm.
In Arizona, it is legal for a minor to get a tattoo with parental permission and their parent must be present for the session.
The video sparked a debate online about whether children should be allowed to get tattoos at all – and if artists should decline their requests, even if it’s legal.
The artist defended his decision to ink the young girl claiming she and her family are from Turkey and they have a tradition of getting tattoos.
‘Being an artist and businessman, you also have to know the cultures they come from,’ Sosa told AZFamily.
He claimed after hearing their story and how important it was to them, he was convinced to do the tattoo.
The Arizona tattoo artist, known as Sosa, slammed for inking a nine-year-old girl justified his actions by claiming the child and her family are Turkish
He claimed after hearing their story and how important it was to them, he was convinced to do the tattoo
‘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,’ said Sosa.
He said he tried to sway the family at first by charging them $500 for an $80 tattoo, but they jumped at the offer.
Sosa eventually convinced the girl to get an American flag on her arm and said she can get Trump another time.
‘Told her in a year if she still wanted the trump then to get it but to think on it,’ the artist wrote on Instagram.
‘Client came back one year later saying “I’m 10 now can you touch up the red?”‘
‘She also changed her mind on the Trump portrait one year later,’ the artist added.
Video of the girl getting the tattoo shows her calming sitting as the artist works on the US flag on her arm.
‘It’s not like I tattoo 9-year-olds everyday,’ said Sosa. ‘I don’t tattoo my kids. I’m not promoting kids to come and get tattoos.’
Sosa said he persuaded her to do a ‘more patriotic tattoo’ instead – of a US flag on her arm – rather than get Trump on her neck
The artist said he knew the video would create controversy, but did not expect such an extreme public outcry.
‘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,’ said Sosa.
‘Any publicity is good publicity. I would rather have good publicity, however, this is just a debate.’
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