A shocking and gross image of a girl with a tattoo of “poop” on her back has been widely circulated. Today we’ll take a look at the image and the story which often accompanies it.
The Photo
This image pre-dates the story that was later associated with it. In 2010 it appeared on several humor websites such as the I Am Bored blog, listed as “Worst Tattoo of the Day #84” posted in June 2010. The Daily Mail suggests that it was posted back in January 2009 on the Polish social media site Nasza-klasa.
The Story
The alleged story behind this tattoo is that “Rossie Brovent” of Dayton, Ohio had asked her boyfriend “Ryan L. Fitzjerald” to tattoo a scene from Narnia on her back. After discovering that his girlfriend had cheated on him, Ryan decided to tattoo a pile of poop surrounded by flies onto the woman’s back. Fitzjerald loaded Brovent up with alcohol to distract her from his devious plot. Upon seeing her tattoo, Rossie filed a $100,000 lawsuit against her former boyfriend.
This story began circulating with the photo over a year after the image first appeared online, and was published by a few legitimate news sources, such as the Sun. There were never any follow-up stories, interviews with the parties involved, or corroboration of any kind.
The Smoking Gun
A report by the Smoking Gun reported that there were no cases matching those in the circulated story, nor were any individuals matching the names Rossie Brovent or Ryan L. Fitzjerald found.
Theories
Without any verification regarding the source of the image, theories abound as to its true origin, such as:
- It’s a real tattoo meant to depict a candle surrounded by moths.
- It is a temporary henna tattoo.
- It is drawn in ink.
- It is Photoshopped
Bottom Line
There is no evidence to support the story of Rossie Brovent and Ryan L. Fitzjerald. As is often the case, this is likely a humorous and fictional story which was attached to a real, but unrelated image.
Sources
- Worst Tattoo of the Day #84 (I Am Bored: June 10, 2010)
- That Viral Story About The Poor Woman Stuck With The Poop Tattoo? Sorry, It’s Totally Full Of Crap (The Smoking Gun: November 29, 2011)
- Tatt-poo for cheating (Chris Brandes, The Sun: November 29, 2011)