Meghan McCain wants you to know something: getting a tattoo removed is a nightmare. Not a metaphorical nightmare, either – an actual, sit-in-a-chair-while-a-laser-basically-tries-to-burn-ink-out-of-your-skin nightmare. And she’s mad about it. On X. Because of course she is.
So What Did She Actually Say?
Saturday, September 26th, McCain fired off a tweet that read, and I’m quoting this exactly because it’s kind of perfect: “Getting a tattoo removed is such a bitch, I’m about to just give up and keep em.” Emphasis mine, but honestly the emphasis is already baked in there. She didn’t elaborate. No photos, no “here’s where I’m at in the process,” nothing. Just a vent into the void, the way most of us complain about traffic or a bad Wi-Fi connection except this is Meghan McCain and 200,000 people are watching.
Here’s the thing though – she’s not wrong. Tattoo removal is genuinely brutal. I’ve talked to people who’ve gone through it (not me, my ink is staying put, thank you very much) and the consensus is basically universal: it hurts more than getting the tattoo did, it takes forever, and it’s expensive as hell. Multiple sessions, months apart, laser blasting away at pigment that your skin apparently decided to hold onto for dear life. So when McCain says she’s “about to just give up and keep em,” I get it. I really do.
Wait, Which Tattoo Are We Talking About?
This is where it gets a little fun, because McCain has actually been open about this specific tattoo for almost a decade now. Back in 2016 she tweeted – Twitter at the time, obviously – “Yes, I have a very old tattoo on my right foot from college. Apparently it’s noticeable on camera. Don’t get tattoos on spring break kids.” Which, first of all, iconic public service announcement. Second of all, this woman has been thinking about this tattoo on camera for years. Years! That’s a long time to be self-conscious about a foot.
And she brought it up again three years after that, in some interview or post reminiscing about her time in Los Angeles, tattoo apparently still very much a topic of conversation. So this isn’t some random Saturday impulse post. This is a saga. A slow-burn, decade-spanning saga about one small tattoo on one foot that apparently just will not quit – literally and figuratively.
Why Do We Even Care About This?
Fair question. It’s a tattoo. On a foot. Removed, or not removed, by a former talk show host. In the grand scheme of things this ranks somewhere between “mildly interesting” and “why is this in my feed.” But I think the reason it caught fire a little is because it’s relatable in a way most celebrity news isn’t. We’re not talking about a $40 million mansion or a feud with a co-star. We’re talking about regretting a decision you made at 19 or 20 on spring break, which, statistically, describes a huge chunk of the population.
“Don’t get tattoos on spring break kids.”
That line from 2016 might be the most honest, useful piece of advice McCain has ever put on the internet, and I say that as someone who has watched a lot of her career unfold in real time – The View years, the political commentary, the whole thing. This is the most universally applicable thing she’s ever tweeted. No cap.
The Spring Break Tattoo Pipeline Is Real
Look, I’m not going to pretend I don’t know people with exactly this story. Bad decision, cheap tattoo parlor near a beach, a tattoo that seemed hilarious or meaningful at 2am and mortifying by the following Tuesday. It’s basically a rite of passage for a certain generation, and McCain just happens to be a public figure who’s had to live with hers on camera, which, honestly, sounds miserable in its own small way. Imagine having a physical reminder of your worst college decision show up in HD every time you’re on TV.
The Removal Process Nobody Warns You About
Not gonna lie, I did a little digging into how tattoo removal actually works because I wanted to understand why McCain sounds so genuinely fed up. And yeah – it’s rough. Laser removal typically requires multiple sessions, sometimes six to twelve or more depending on the ink, the size, the colors involved. Each session can cost anywhere from $200 to $500, sometimes more, and there’s real pain involved, not the cute “it’s just a little pinch” kind either. People describe it as feeling like hot grease popping on your skin, over and over, for however long the session lasts.
And the kicker? Sometimes it doesn’t even fully work. Some ink just refuses to fade completely, especially certain colors or older tattoos that have had years to really settle into the skin. So you’re paying, and hurting, and waiting months between sessions for your skin to heal, and there’s still a chance you end up with a faded ghost of the tattoo instead of a clean canvas. That’s basically what McCain seems to be running into. She’s been at this for who knows how long now, and she still hasn’t confirmed how far along she is or whether it’s actually working.
What This Actually Means
I don’t think this is some deep cultural moment, and I’m not going to pretend it is. This is a celebrity venting about something annoying, on a platform built for exactly that kind of venting, and it happened to catch some attention because tattoo removal is a shared frustration a lot more people than she realizes. But if I’m being honest, there’s something almost charming about the whole thing. Nine years of on-and-off complaining about one small foot tattoo. A decade-long relationship with a piece of ink from her college spring break. At some point you have to wonder if she even wants it gone anymore, or if the complaining itself has become part of the deal.
My guess? She keeps it. The tattoo, I mean. Not because the removal process magically gets easier, but because at some point the annoyance of finishing the sessions probably outweighs whatever discomfort the tattoo itself was causing her on camera all these years. And honestly, would that be the worst outcome here? Sometimes the thing you regretted at 20 just becomes part of the story by 41. Doesn’t mean you have to love it. Just means you’ve made peace with it, bitch tattoo removal process and all.
