'It Sucks': The Story Behind Blake Shelton's Hilariously Bad Tattoo

There are plenty of reasons why someone might come to regret getting a tattoo, and while there are options to remove or alter unwanted body art, many people choose to simply live with their (possibly bad) decisions. That’s certainly what Blake Shelton seems to have done, as he’s had to answer questions about his bizarre barbed wire arm tattoo over the years. The country singer himself has admitted “it sucks,” but what exactly is it supposed to be, and what’s the story behind the ink?

Blake Shelton explained how he ended up with the hilariously bad design, which features two lines of barbed wire circling his left arm with what are supposed to be deer tracks in the middle. Alcohol was possibly involved, the former coach of The Voice explained on TODAY (via Hollywood), saying: 

Because of the placement of the tattoo on Blake Shelton’s forearm, it can be seen anytime he rolls up his sleeves, and therefore often pops up on TV and social media (which you can see below). Maybe I just don’t have enough experience with deer hunting, or with deer in general, because animal tracks aren’t the first thing that come to mind when I see this: 

While most of us who regret getting a tattoo can simply go on about our lives without it causing much of a disturbance, the same simply isn’t true for celebrities, who tend to face all kinds of scrutiny during interviews. As such, the “Hillbilly Bone” singer has had to tell similar versions of the above story several times over the years. He even admitted to Oprah Winfrey in 2013 that he’d added the barbed wire later to distract from what Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine thought were ladybugs.

Sugar Smacks cereal and coffee beans were two other items the country star compared his deer tracks to, and I have no doubt he’s heard plenty of other guesses from people over the years.

Despite knowing that it looks like “crap” (as Blake Shelton told Oprah), he seems to have a good sense of humor about the tattoo, and his three stepsons have apparently even gotten in on the fun. Back in 2017, Shelton’s now-wife Gwen Stefani shared an adorable photo of Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with marker-drawn tattoos to match Shelton’s: 

The Barmageddon star's drunken deer tracks may not be the most identifiable body art, but at least he didn’t go all Yellowstone like Pete Davidson and brand Kim Kardashian’s name into his chest, only to break up less than a year later. It could always be worse. 

While Blake Shelton — and Gwen Stefani for that matter — are no longer on The Voice, the singing competition will resume in February, and you can see what other premieres are coming soon with our 2024 TV schedule.