Ed Sheeran fans everywhere were lost for words when their flame-haired idol unveiled a rather garish and peculiar looking lion tattoo that the diminutive songbird had chosen to have inked upon his pale chest.
Yet the question everyone wants an answer to is, did Sheeran get the enormous big cat tattoo done in tribute to Cecil the lion?
Sheeran may be king of the jungle right now in the fickle and often ugly world of easy listening, but having a tattoo of a man-eater inked into his chest does seem a tad extreme, even by the popular pop singer’s reckless standards.
This shock act of artistic mutilation has led many Sheeran fans who also share an all consuming interest in animal rights and environmental issues, to ponder if Ed’s sole reason for the ink was to honour Cecil the lion, the wild and untamed beast who was killed by mild-mannered dentist Walter Palmer.
When Cecil was taken down mercilessly by Walter, the big cat’s death captured the public’s imagination in a way that a two day old hippo who was mauled savagely to death by several adult hippos after being introduced to the rest of the hippo herd for the first time cannot.
In the minds of many who chomped furiously on their factory farmed chicken, Cecil became Aslan, and Walter became the White Witch.
As is only natural in such circumstances many celebrities were keen to lead the charge of the outraged brigade and now the world wonders with an indifference bordering on apathy if Ed Sheeran felt Cecil’s pain to such a degree he chose to mark his passing with some questionable body art?
Similar to many people who wander aimlessly from pillar to post in the cultural vacuum of the modern world, Ed may have simply just got the tattoo because he felt it was pretty cool to have a lion on his chest.
Like stains on one’s character or blemishes upon a person’s reputation, bad tattoos are now inescapable. No doubt a gentlemen or lady from a far more civilised age would be aghast at the abundance of poorly stained flesh that parades itself in every corner of the Western world, but not unlike the norovirus, tattoos lacking in meaning and artistry are a fact of life.
One thing’s for sure, Ed’s got a taste for the ink and apparently the 24-year-old want to cover his entire body with another man’s pen, leaving just his face, neck and hands free of inkings.
The Mirror reports that Ed’s tattooist Kevin Paul, who has also covered Harry Styles in art, has revealed that Sheeran’s odyessy into the world of body art has only just began.
“Ed is nowhere near done. There are going to be even bigger tattoos in the next few months. He’s going to have his entire back covered, and then across his ribs. It’ll be incredible.”
(Image Via Instagram)