A tattoo artist in Yuma, Arizona is defending his decision to tattoo an American flag on a 9-year-old girl after a video of the inking stoked outrage on social media.
The tattoo artist, who goes by the name Sosa, is a part owner of Black Onyx Empire Tattoo in Yuma. He received an odd request; a family from out of state flew into Arizona to get their 9-year-old daughter a tattoo.
Initially, the girl wanted a tattoo of Donald Trump on her neck, but Sosa told AZ Family that he convinced her instead to get something more patriotic — an American flag.
A video of Sosa giving the girl the tattoo blew up on social media and launched a debate over whether or not it was right to tattoo a child, even with her parent’s permission. The video was shot in 2023, and the girl returned in 2024 to get a touch-up on her tattoo.
Sosa defended himself in the wake of the controversy, saying “it’s not like I tattoo 9-year-olds everyday.”
He said his typical minimum age is 15 with parental consent, but he said the younger girl was an exception to his typical rule.
“I’m getting a lot of hate from it. My employees are getting hate from it. My business, I’m getting so many bad reviews on Google,” he said.
Sosa didn’t break the law by inking the child; under Arizona law, it’s legal to tattoo a child with the consent and in the presence of their parents or guardians.
The artist insisted that there was more to the story than what’s being shared online.
According to him, the family was a from Turkey, and told him that it was a tradition in their family to get tattoos.
“They were just very grateful to be here in the United States. They were just being grateful. They said they saw Donald Trump as a hero,” Sosa told AZ Family. “Being an artist and businessman, you also have to know the cultures [clients] come from.”
He said he did not regret his decision, and emphasized that tattooing children that young is not typical of him or his shop.
“I don’t tattoo my kids. I’m not promoting kids to come and get tattoos,” he said.
He said that “any publicity is good publicity,” and dismissed the controversy as little more than a typical social media debate.
