Jesy Nelson has revealed a new face tattoo – along with a couple of other new additions – and it’s proving divisive.
The Little Mix singer unveiled her new ink on Instagram yesterday (December 3) to her 4.5 million followers and received a mix response.
Posting three separate pictures, she showed off a brand new tattoo in each of them – one on the side of her face, one on her ribcage, and one on her arm.
The 27-year-old reportedly already had at least 13 tattoos (that we know of) before the new additions, taking her total to 16.
These include a rose on the back of her hand/arm, a rose on her forearm, and an intricately written ‘girl power’ near her collarbone.
And now she has added the following to her collection: the letter ‘Q’ above a love heart; a gun; and the word ‘icon’ – each in a different place.
Taking to Instagram for the big reveal, Jesy posted close-up pictures of each of the cute little additions.
Each tattoo is made up of line work, taking up only a small amount of space, meaning the end result is simple yet effective.
The singer thanked her tattoo artist in the caption of the photos:
Thank you @zayahastra for always giving me my favourite little tattoos
You can take a look below:
Her followers were quick to make their feelings clear, taking to social media to express their thoughts on the new face ink.
One person commented beneath her post:
I love your tats jest but I plzzzz I beg you dnt put any on the beautiful face
While another wrote:
Nonsense tattoo
And one tweeted:
Jesy is my fave person ever and I adore her but I’m not keen on her new queen of heart tattoo. Just for the reason I don’t like tattoos on the face
But it seems the tattoo causing the most controversy is the one of a gun, which is just above her ribcage. Many comments on her Instagram post centred on how they don’t understand her decision to get one inked on her.
One person wrote:
So now guns are cool to all the little girls that look up to her?
While another said:
Lost a little bit of respect there with a gun. Probably the worst ever man made invention!
And another commented:
A gun… interesting choice considering 99 per cent of your fans are kids…
However, many fans (including me FYI) think the meanings behind the tattoos are much more significant and are actually a reference to the group’s latest album LM5.
Their song Joan of Arc is a feminist anthem which celebrates self love and encourages their fans to stand on their own two feet.
One of the lyrics is:
Man I feel like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Queen of Hearts
Many believe the ‘Queen of Hearts’ lyric is the inspiration behind Jesy’s face tattoo – and yes it is on her face not quite her ear – a tiny letter ‘Q’ above a red heart.
Fans also think the gun tattoo is a reference to their song Forget You Not, which includes the lyrics, ‘I’ll forget you not/Bada-bang-bang’.
Either way, it’s Jesy’s body so it’s her choice what she does with it. And let’s face it, a random person commenting on her Instagram to tell her they don’t approve is hardly going to change her mind.
Why should it? Anyway, I personally love the new additions.
Tatt inspiration, anyone?
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).