'I was tattooed against my will on my face - I can't get a job because of it'

02 September 2023 , 12:52

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She knows her unwanted face tattoo is the reason she can't get a job (Stock Photo) (Image: Getty Images/EyeEm)

Tattoos are a personal choice, and what you decide to get inked has different meanings for everyone. But one woman has shared she was tattooed against her will and was left with obscenities all over her face and is now unable to get a job.

Taylor White, 37, was attacked 16 years ago and is still recovering from the trauma today. She alleged she was drugged and was then permanently inked on her face by her ex-boyfriend. She saw no other option than to tattoo over the etchings on her face leaving her with a large portion of her face heavily covered.

As she was only 21 at the time, Taylor from Florida, US, was working in a tattoo shop and had covered the majority of her face with black ink but had hopes of having a career in mental health services as she had just finished her Bachelor's degree. She had aspirations to continue her studies and complete a psychology doctorate.

She realised her face tattoos are the reason she has been unlucky trying to secure a job, as she told The New York Post: "I've tried applying for jobs in the mental health care field just as an advocate. I understand that my appearance is quite different, and could maybe jar someone that has their own condition."

When she showed her boss at the tattoo shop, he told her she couldn't live with the offensive words on her face, and offered to "black it out" so she could "live a normal life" as she was trying to recover from the trauma she had endured, and she has been struggling ever since.

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Taylor has now decided to document her situation on TikTok, as she shared what happened, and that her tattoo isn't by choice as you would have assumed. Speaking openly, as well as about mental health struggles, Taylor caught the attention of TikToker Karridy Askenasy, also known as TheDadBot, as he said he was "touched by her story".

He wanted to help Taylor and offered to pay for her laser removal, and searched for a special clinic that would be able to remove her tattoos as he could see the personal effect it was having on her. After he started to raise awareness of Taylor's story, Removery, a tattoo removal brand Removery offered to help. Not charging her a penny for the removal, they admitted it could take upwards of two years for them to fade, but she knows the results will be life-changing for her as she said: "It's a gradual process, but one that yields permanent, life-changing results. This is really removing a part of me that I no longer represent or live in."

Niamh Kirk