9/5/2009

in

East Side Ink was given a citation after they found out pop sensation Rihanna had been tattooing the staff without a license.

Amanda Johnson

In July, pop singer, Rihanna, paid a visit to East Side Ink in Manhattan to do a little tattooing of her own. According to [BallerStaus](http://www.ballerstatus.com/2009/09/06/new-york-tattoo-shop-fined-after-letting-rihanna-tattoo-its-artists/) the owner, Yadira, said that she did "not necessarily getting tattoo lessons. She came by originally to say 'hi,' and she ended up tatting BangBang." Unfortunately even though that was not the initial intention the Depart of Health and Mental Hygiene fined the tattoo shop. Without a license it was legal for the entertainer to try her hand at tattooing. Fines are usually in the amount of $200 to $2,000. Once she finished the first tattoo for BangBang, an employee who had done a tattoo for Rihanna back in March, she proceeded to do other artists in the shop. After a quick pictured was snapped by paparazzi, photos of the singers helped incriminate the shop. The Rihanna slip up wasn't the only problem for investigators. The [New York Post](http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/manhattan/tat_too_bad_for_rihanna_iWeFcTibkFCZ0eegp9rESK) said that when they arrived Rihanna was gone but they found an unlicensed artist practicing in the East Village shop.