A London tattoo removal studio has seen a wave of clients requesting the erasure of their Kanye West-inspired body art.

Naama Studios launched an offer to remove Kanye tattoos free of charge on 15 November with the tagline: “Yeezy come, yeezy go.”

Two women have since begun the process of removing tattoos of West with ten others booked in for consultations and five more in touch to arrange them.

Kimberley Westgarth, who has a prominent tattoo of the antisemitic musician on her left arm, said she was “so glad” to be getting it removed.

“I got a Kanye West tattoo on my arm because I related to him as someone with bipolar myself, I loved his music and still do,” she told the JC.

“I have a Jewish best friend so it’s deeply uncomfortable to listen to everything he’s said. I no longer feel comfortable with him on my skin and no longer resonate with him.”

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Ms Westgarth’s ink being erased

Aoife Knox, Head of Brand and Creative at Naama Studios in Marylebone, told the JC the studio was inspired to act after seeing “a lot” of people on social media announcing that they regret adorning their body with images of the racist rapper. “Tattoos can be really triggering,” she said.

“When we went out initially with the offer we were surprised we got such a global response.”

A London laser studio is offering to remove Kanye West tattoos for free after the rapper made several antisemitic statements and praised Hitler. pic.twitter.com/8V2ak7h7Zr

— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) December 6, 2022

She added that people who had made enquiries about having tattoos removed referenced recent comments by West in which he denied the Holocaust and praised Hitler.

“One of the clients said she’s embarrassed by her tattoos, she has friends and people on social media commenting, trolling her really.”

Demand for the service has now reached overseas, with American fans of Ye — as the musician is now legally known — getting in touch to ask for help.

The tattoo-removal procedure takes between ten and 12 sessions and costs around £2,000.
The studio focuses intense pulses of light to the skin to break down the ink, which is then removed by the immune system.

The West offer was inspired by the studio’s ongoing Second Chances project, which provides free tattoo removals for people with gang insignia, hate symbols or reminders of past relationships.

Ilario, who did not provide a second name, had a swastika removed from his wrist.
“My life has been kind of rough. I was very shy when I was young and I became addicted to drugs and alcohol at a young age,” he told Naama Studios.

“I spent a lot of time in and out of prison. The tattoo I had was a swastika. It was on my wrist. I had it when I was in the army, I followed what the regiment was doing, I have regretted it ever since.”

Ms Knox said: “It’s about giving people a second chance. Don’t focus too much on regret, people change.

“It’s OK to want to remove something on your body, especially if it impacts on your mental health and wellbeing.”