Farrah Abraham continues to get criticized for her parenting choices.
The fired Teen Mom star has been receiving a driveway-Porta-Potty-full of backlash since Wednesday night, when she and her daughter Sophia shared on social media that Farrah allowed her teen daughter to get a massive tattoo on her stomach, despite Sophia only being 16 years old.
In videos posted to Instagram and TikTok, Farrah alluded that they were announcing a teen pregnancy for Sophia, writing “We have a surprise for you guys” while Sophia had her hands on her belly. Sophia then pulls up her shirt to reveal that the surprise is “only” a large tattoo of bats on both sides of her belly.
@sophialabraham 👀👀 #pregnant #teenmom #goth #tattoo #fyp @Farrah Abraham @Nick SL @Teen Mom @MTV ♬ loser core – Avery
Although Farrah and Sophia live in Texas— where minors can’t legally get tattoos, even with parental consent— it appears that the mother/daughter duo flew to Florida to have Sophia’s ink done. The law in Florida states that someone 16 years or older can get a tattoo, but only if their parent or guardian accompanies them and fills out (and has notarized) a state-mandated consent form.
Farrah’s decision to allow her teen daughter to get a large tattoo stirred up plenty of controversy online, with many people taking to the comment sections of the posts to slam the Backdoor Teen Mom for allowing Sophia to do whatever she wants because Farrah wants to be a “cool mom.”
“Sometimes parents can just say no,” one person wrote, to which Farrah replied, “But it’s not a no and you don’t know what you'[re] speaking on– just say ‘no’ to commenting on our pages- thanks!”
“Girl, be her mother not her friend,” another person wrote.
“Big permanent tattoo as a minor?” someone else wrote, then joking, “No regerrrts!”
“I for one would not feel comfortable letting a grown area tattoo my minor child in that area [of her body] or at all but good for y’all,” someone else commented.
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This is certainly not the first time Farrah has caught flak for her parenting decisions regarding Sophia’s body modifications. Farrah came under fire for allowing Sophia to get six new piercings at once– including snake bite lower lip piercings– for her 14th birthday. For her 13th birthday, Sophia was allowed to get her septum pierced. (Sophia now also has an eyebrow piercing, a tongue piercing and two dermal piercings on her back.)
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While appearing on Bunnie XO‘s Dumb Blonde podcast last year, Farrah –in her signature “Farrah Speak” word salad way— explained that she allows Sophia to wear what she wants and pierce what she wants, despite many people online criticizing her for it.
“I’m not there to go into spiral, like shame, blame reject my child,” she stated. “I’m here to make sure my child’s seen, she is safe and she is supported. If those three things are always top of mind, then I know what I’m doing in the footsteps that I’m walking in my parent journey are right where they need to be for my child.”
@farrahabraham @sophialabraham HAPPY 14th Birthday! #snakebite & #earlobe piercing party! 6 piercings later #snakebitepiercings you match your snake 🐍 can you even eat your cake ? 🎂 #fyp #birthday #birthdaygirl #birthdaygift #fy #lippiercing #genz #y2k #alt #grunge #gothic #emo #xyzbca ♬ Like I Can – Sam Smith
In the interview with Bunnie, Farrah used one of her phrases-of-the-month (“consent culture”) to describe how she parents.
“I learned so much about consent culture and leading with that and allowing someone to have their will, their rights, their freedoms,” Farrah said. “And I think that’s just very important on maybe the littlest things, like a piercings or tattoos…I love Sophia’s look, too. And I’m happy with whatever look she decides and what she loves.”
UPDATE! Farrah has responded to those criticizing her for allowing Sophia to get a tattoo at 16, and those saying she’s trying to be Sophia’s friend rather than her mother.
“I will always be a parent over a friend,” she told Radar Online on Friday. “I will always be the best person for my daughter to share her life with. It is legal.”
“Our relationship is a safe space, and we are happy to share bits of our personal lives always. Life is about enjoying it,” she added.
Farrah said that she’s not concerned if Sophia grows up to regret the tattoo, as “there’s always tattoo removal.”
“I just wanted to respect my daughter’s identity and what my daughter’s choices are,” Farrah said, adding that she is happy Sophia didn’t go behind her back and get tattooed anyway without her consent. “I love my daughter and I’m happy I was there.”
Sophia also talked to the site about how she’s grateful that her mom allows her to express herself via body modifications.
“I have been wanting a tattoo for a couple years, and I’m very grateful my mother allowed me to get my dream tattoo at 16,” she said.
(Photos: TikTok; Instagram; YouTube)
86 Responses
That child is crying out for help. Look at her – it goes beyond self expression and borders on a lot of things I’m not qualified to diagnose. Sad really, she never had a chance and now forever marked.
Tattoos and piercings, imo, arent that big of a deal. Piercings can be taken out, the holes will close up (unless they’re gauges). Tattoos can be removed in the future, though it is expensive.
I got both my first tattoo and piercing at 18 years old, and I dont regret either one. That was 18 years ago. I’ve gotten a couple more tattoos and piercings since then.
I got my toungue pierced at 17 or 18 & belly button at 15 & they were both dumb. So was the daith. Only ones i missed once gone, was upper ear cartiledge. My dad told me multiple times I’d regret a tat when I was 80, that it would look bad so I never got one.
Idk why I’m surprised that so many people are up in arms about this lol. I would not let my minor child do this, but in the realm of Farrah’s parenting decisions, this seems like a minor one. Like Sophia can get that removed in the future or whatever. But she cannot remove her mom doing porn, getting arrested, mutilating her face, etc. it’s all out there for the world to see. Can you imagine her dating someone in the future who watched her mom’s porn? So weird.
I don’t regret any of my tattoos, even the little dumb ones I got at 18/19. All part of my story
So she had to fly to another state and get a notarized consent form just so her daughter could get that tacky tattoo at 16??
That’s awful. She’s not doing Sophia any favors by indulging in her every whim
Agree. Parents are supposed to guide you in the right way. As a minor, I didn’t understand that, but in my 40s now I appreciate my dad doing that. It honestly saved my life
People change, tattoos don’t. Not to mention if Sophia has a pregnancy or weight gain at any point in her life those bats are going to look like buzzards.
I heard the same thing when i wanted barb wire around my hips from my friends, so i never ended up doing it. I did end up gaining alot & then losing alot. The stretch marks are good enough.
Why is no one trashing the tattoo artist? As someone that has nearly my entire body covered in tattoos, I’d question a tattoo artist that values money over ethics.
Probably figured if not him it’d be someone else. They seemed pretty determined
Sophia getting pregnant in 3….2…1. (Doesn’t she have a boyfriend? I bet he is doing sleepovers cuz Farrah is such a “cool mom”)
I swear Farrah is doing on purpose for outrage or even in her own twisted mind she thinks it would be “Cool” if she became the first Teen Mom grandma.
I just….this kid needs guidance but not from her mom.
I myself got a tattoo with parents permission when I was 16, so did my twin brother. The only thing I’m thankful for is that I ONLY got a really small sun tattoo. I hate the tattoo and wish I had never gotten it. Most of my friends who got tattoos early, even at 18, regret them. My brother has a tribal tattoo on his upper back (essentially a male tramp stamp of the mid 2000s lol). He also regrets his. He’s a physician with mostly doctor friends and they all (lovingly) tease him about it
I love that my parents raised us to be ourselves and supported our feelings as we were heading into adulthood but I honestly wish this was one area they held us back. I really believe most people end up regretting something so permanent they got when they were young and I REALLY think Sophia will regret considering it is hideous and there is basically a 0% chance she will be “goth” her entire life. I lived through the goths of the 2000s. No one who was goth then is still goth now
I recently saw a friend’s tramp stamp and commented “oh, I didn’t know you had a tattoo.” And she was like “don’t remind me, I hate it”. FWIW, I have a friend who is still kinda goth as she enters middle age, but she was never hardcore even back in the day.
I live in Mn. Under no circumstances can a
Minor get a tattoo. With good reason. I have 5. Some you can see. Some you can’t. I’ve allowed all of my 5 kids to dress how they want. Be who they want (within reason.) I allowed my 18 year old daughter to get a
Nose ring at 16. I know some people will frown upon that. I have told all of them-no giant ear gauges. That’s it. It’s going too far. Farrah needs to be an adult. Not a friend. Which we all know won’t happen.
My husband & I were never full outwardly goth, just a tad & we both still kinda are at heart. Black is still one of my favorite colors. It just says that she knows life sucks.
I was just kind of a weirdo. My favorite pants were like the pants the band kids wore. Dark green. They had rainbows down the side. I listened to Marilyn Manson and korn, Zappa) I just did what I wanted. My daughter is very much the same. We live in a very conservative town of about 1000 people. Let’s just say people didn’t really appreciate it🤗
Mom likes Sophia’s look?? WTF
At the rate she’s going, what will Sophia look like at 21? Will she have tats on her face? Sophia will be so limited as far as a profession is concerned.
There are plenty of things to question about Farrah’s parenting. Allowing sophia to get tattoos and piercings, like 90% of the population does, is not even on the list. If Sophia regrets it one day it’ll teach her to think before she acts, to be less likely to jump into something quickly, and if it’s enough to make her unhappy she can have them removed. Y’all are seriously just a bunch of weirdo busy bodies. Who is even in this common section? The mother of Ed Gein?
Her tattoos are trashy asf just like her weird appearance. No one will hire her besides fast food.
She can follow in Farrah’s footsteps, sell her poop to perverts.
1) she’s a kid. Don’t call her weird.
2) plenty of people experiment with hair dye, makeup and piercings in their teens. Not weird at all.
3) People with tats can work in most professions in the U.S. and Canada. For example, I work in a professional office setting in DC (where we all make over $100k) and am one of the few employees with no tats. People with arm tats are even (gasp) allowed to wear short sleeve shirts like polos. There’s a woman who regularly leads meetings and wears a sleeveless dress, yet has multiple tats on each arm. Society and companies have changed.
90 percent of the population?? Where did you pull that number out of your ass? Yes, many people have tattoos/piercings. That doesn’t mean a minor should just get full range.There’s a reason underage people shouldn’t get tattoos and I think it’s pretty obvious. A lot of them would probably do full sleeves. That’s stupid.
Majority of Millennials and Gen X have tats.
Those bats are going to look like monster blurs when she gets bigger.
And 16 for permanant ink?? If she wanted it so badly, wait until its legal. Give her some time to really consider it. The piercings are one thing…the holes can close up and leave minimal (if any) scarring. Tattoos are FOREVER!!!!
No bueno on the parenting choice here.
I disagree about the blurs I have 2 butterflies in the same spots they are big and I went thru 2 pregnancies- still look the same- 🤷♀️ but she’s too dang young!….
You’re lucky!!! I’m glad you still have great ink and still love it. I never regretted my tattoos.
My friend got a sun around her belly button when she was young and after she had her daughter it looked like the universe blew up. It never looked “right” again and she regrets the choice. Tattoo removal is always an option but its painful and expensive. Waiting the 2 years until she was of age to really think about her choice would have been the better thing to do here.
My cousin’s daughter wanted to get a tattoo in her late teens. She told her daughter that if she got a tattoo at 3, she would’ve chosen Elmo. She would hate it now and to consider that the things she likes at 19 might not be the same when she’s 39 or 49.
What difference does it make? That kid never had a chance. Obviously!
😔
LMAO…at first I thought the tattoo artist was Louis -Stella’s bio dad 🤣🤣🤣
She’s like i love Sophia’s look, bullshit F. No you fucking don’t, you made fun of emo kids in high school (the 2 that were in your bumfuck Iowa school anyway) be so fr, shes literally youre only friend F…
I’m sure a 16 year-old can’t imagine that her belly will ever be anything other than flat and taut. In 20 years, those bats are going to look like they came straight out of a bad shroom trip.
💯
Is it now, though? 🤷🏻♀️
My belly wasn’t at that age.
i think Farrah has no friends and has made Sophia her best friend, and in doing so she has let her down, Sophia needs guidance and boundaries to build a sence of self before she goes off and has to make adult decisions. I feel sad for Sophia because Farrah isn’t going to let her go off and become an independent person.
Totally agree. Farrah is treating Sophia as her best friend and right now that’s fun for Sophia. But later on when Sophia is grown she’s going to realize she doesn’t know things other people do, or she was allowed too far into things she should have had no part of – Dubai.
I’ve seen the pics of Sophia and Farrah in the pools with trays of strawberries and such floating around them. This is fine once in a while but it seems to be their way of life. Good luck to Sophia ever being happy if she can’t sustain this level of lifestyle as an adult.
Raising kids with less, always makes splurges a little bit more exciting, even when you’re an adult.
Have we EVER seen Sophia with friends of her own age? Being “best friends” with your mother while teen is one thing..being one another’s ONLY friends, esp when you are alienated from any other family? Not so much.
My mother was that way. We fought because regardless of what she wanted, I’m stubborn & also thankfully had my dad’s level headed parenting to counteract her neglect. I cut her off last year
Part of me thinks, it’s not a case of her saying no, but rather putting these ideas in Sophia’s head and pushing her to get it done. Just look at her own body dysmorphia, it’s not that far fetched to think she’s projecting it on to her child. On top of being a dog sh*T person, she has a lot of undiagnosed personality disorders, which don’t help her likeability. But thankfully she’s a professional victim and we’re all just jealous 😏 for it to impact her actions
I got several tattoos at the age of 18 and even then I did not understand how they would change, how I would change, and how utterly trendy they would become losing all their luster.
It 8t wasn’t so easily hidden in it have an issue withit.. I still think its dumb because shes most likely going to hate it in 10 years but its easily hidden so it won’t affect future job opportunities
Tattoos no longer really affect job opportunities, unless you work in a super conservative field or it’s a small business. I work in an office and we all make six figures. Most of the employees have tats – sometimes exposed – and no one bats an eye.
Its not the job opportunities I worry about…plenty of people have ink….I’m in a professional field and I have 4 tats that I love. Its the age she is and the fact that her mother took her out of state and had to get paperwork done to let her have her body permanantly altered.
Yes, tattoos can be removed….but the process is painful and expensive. Why go through that? Would it have killed anyone to have Sophia wait the 2 years, really think about it, and get it done at the legal age?
It is a pretty cool tattoo, but I haven’t seen close up on the line work. I had friends who got tattoos in high school, nothing huge like this however. Farrah does seem like she’s a friend than a parent, I bet its so weird growing up in the public yet not attending a school to have/make friends. I hope she does recieve therapy, it has to overwhelming.
Parent is a noun and a verb
Sophia is pretty. I don’t get the Gene Simmons bit but if she did her makeup herself, maybe she could look into cosmetology or “beauty school”. Her best bet to try to avoid making a living on her back is to learn a profitable trade.
You should check out the reddit sub “blunder years.” I don’t think her style is super unusual, in the 80s it was crazy fashion and hair, the juggalos in the 90s and the chemical romance age of the aughts.
I was very much alive in the 80s and yes she’s in a time warp!
It’s off putting for day-to- day wear. Halloween is in a couple of weeks, that’s her opportunity, not out at Spago with mom.
Personally, I’d rather see Sophia’s kind of style rather than the way Farrah dresses and has dressed for her “paparazzi pics” in the past. Man was that an era of eyebleeds. Let the girl live and sport that goth style. I’d prefer to see this over paraded tits and ass cheeks anyday.
Pretty???Who Sophia?She looks like someone from hell.She was cute as a child.But now?No sorry.
shes a child ffs!
Maybe you should tell that to “mother”.
What an odd take considering you are an adult talking about a child 😂 Beauty is subjective, sorry you lack the foresight to see that this is her preferred style of art and expression. Now go to your room and clutch your pearls, and quit making comments about children’s looks.
Why are you, a fully grown adult, commenting on a child’s looks? Sorry you lack the foresight to see that this is an artistic form of self-expression. Go to your room and clutch you pearls
No it is a form of self mutilation.Now go to your room and learn what artistic really is.
Art is subjective depending on the individual. Art is not right or wrong. It evokes a feeling. Again, seek help for being a fully grown adult making comments about a child’s appearance and get off the internet. You can’t handle it.
Yeah if she did it herself, she’s definitely talented. I don’t think it’s out of the ordinary (like some are saying) for teens to experiment with their hair, makeup, piercings etc. Although, I personally would never allow my 16 year old to get a tat, since it’s wry permanent. Everyone freaking out saying she won’t have any job opportunities due to her piercings and tats, and will have to do p*rn, is just flat out weird. So many employers no longer care about exposed tats and piercings.
Reputable tattoo artists don’t tattoo minors, even with parental consent. That’s the real issue 🤷🏻♀️
I love how in every photo you can feel Farrah’s energy of “I’m not a regular mom, i’m a cool mom”.
She really is a cool mom. She has a terrible mother and now she over compensates by being the coolest mom she can. She hardly has it all right but one thing she does do well is love her daughter for exactly who she is. We’re all flawed and she’s no different. But she does get “unconditional love and full acceptance of self” spot on.
I can recall her being really upset that her boyfriend and the father of her child had died and her own mother having zero compassion and invalidating Farrah’s grief. Absolutely disgusting. Farrah had a super screwed up parental dynamic in her life and she’s trying to be as unlike her mother as possible. I hate that nobody has compassion for Farrah. If anyone knew anything about the depth of mental health they would see how deeply deeply broken she is in an incoherent type of way.
Sophia will still suffer for it. Both can co exist
If she wanted it that bad, she could wait another 2 years when she turns 18. I had friends in high school with piercings, but the tattoos came once high school was over. Thank God social media wasn’t a thing back then.
We all knew that Sophia was in for it as soon as she arrived, unfortunately. Her dad was gone, her mom was damaged, and her mother’s family is one of the worst to come out of the MTV monster. Her Kiss makeup paired with the tattoo and all the piercings isn’t just a style choice, its a message to the world about how difficult it has been for her growing up with her poisonous, destructive family. She is following in Farrah’s footsteps, just on a parallel path. Yes, she is allowed to express herself, but in my opinion, this is more of a cry for help that Farrah continues to normalize instead of addressing. Prefrontal cortex development be damned. Obviously there are no words for that in Farrah Speak.
Honestly, the tattoo is the least concerning part of that reveal video, if you ask me. 😳#savesophia
PS. I do totally applaud Farrah for accepting Sophia exactly as she is. Also. A tattoo at 16 is hardly the end of the world. Two more years and she could legally go do it all on her own. Calm down folks. 🙄
The difference between a 16yr old and an 18yr old is huge.
She likely would change her mind. Theres age restrictions on things for a reason.
She would likely change her mind. 😆 like most people do, no matter what age they get tattooed? But two years was going to change her whole entire future.. 🙄 sure Jan.
Speaking as a former tattoo shop owner I can tell you we had 18-22 year olds who got a tattoo at 16 years old at other tattoo shops and were desperate to cover them up. Some could be but it resulted in an even larger tattoo. Some came in and said they wish they had never done it and were thinking of laser removal. The same way that Sophia is in her goth stage now. At 18-22 years old I doubt she will be going on dates with her face completely white. And I doubt she is going to still be wanting a bunch of bats up and down her up and down both sides of her abdomen either.
You’re an adult talking about a child and somehow mixing sexual shit into it. Go take your medicine, you aren’t well.
Speaking as someone who got my blog button pierced at 16 with parental consent and my fist tattoo the literal day I turned 18, I regret both but it made me who I am. I regret all my tattoos at age 33 but it certainly didn’t affect my life in some negative. There are women piercing their newborn babies ears and that’s disgusting. A mother allowing her almost legal child to get a stomach tattoo a little early, literally matters none. I tell my kids not to get tattooed and make sure they know I regret mine. But am I concerned and nosey enough to be mad that Farrah allowed Sophia to get a tattoo at age 16? No, I have a life. 🙄
*belly button
*first tattoo
piercings is one thing (like who gives af u can take them off whenever) but a BIG tattoo??? especially before your frontal lobe is fully developed??? that’s diabolical on farrah’s part 😫
It is a parents responsibility to set limits for children. A lot of teens want things and want to do things that aren’t in their best interest. That’s why it’s up to the parent to actually parent . If she wants to drink and do drugs, is that OK? Somehow, I believe Farro would support it if that’s what Sophia wanted. Sad.
Actually, more than sad, it’s criminal.
Exactly. Too many parents today are letting kids make adult decisions when they’re still children. At 16, you can’t even vote or sign a lease—but you can permanently mark your body for life?
Parents are supposed to guide and protect their kids, not hand over the reins. A teenager’s job is to learn and grow, not to carry the weight of choices they’ll likely regret later. Too often, like in this case, the lines are massively blurred and it’s inappropriate.
I’ll probably be downvoted into oblivion for this one, but she’s 16, not 6. This is clearly her style and what she is into and I don’t see that changing in the next 2 years, based on how that style has progressed over the last 4. Refusing to allow Sophia to have the tattoo now may result in something far more extreme down the line when she is old enough to do it without Mom’s permission. Just the same way that refusing the piercings and trying to keep Sophia from being who she is would likely result in some drastic changes come her 18th birthday.
I understand what others are saying. I understand the concerns. I think, if this was something Sophia wanted, making her wait for a while to make sure she still wants it would be a smart move. Which may or may not have been the case. I don’t think refusing it due to her age is valid this far down the line. Many parents would never allow their child to dress like Sophia or have any of the piercings. And their child would still be who he or she is and get those things when old enough to do it without a parent.
SO, I don’t know. If it is safe and done by a reputable company/artist, and if Sophia has wanted this for long enough that Mom feels confident she won’t change her mind, I don’t see the huge issue with it.
Are you still fairly close to 16 yourself? The things you say like you don’t see someone’s personality changing that much in two years makes me think you are a little on young and immature side. Between 16 and 18, I went from dressing like Britney Spears (I’m a 90s kid) to total goth. It’s pretty to typical to change A LOT in those final 2 years of CHILDHOOD. Also, as someone with a bunch of tattoos and piercings, Farrah can’t be taking her to any place really great for all this because it’s basic policy for the good and great artists to reject minor customers even with parental consent.
I’m about to be 37. Highly educated. But, no kids. Nieces and nephews who I refer to as “niblets” and love to pieces. But, no kids. I stand by what I said in my original comment. I completely understand the concerns, but feel I would have allowed it IF it was wanted for a reasonable amount of time. That said, who knows if and how that would change if it was my own kid. I don’t think it would, but we don’t know what we don’t know….
There is a huge difference, as you’ re noting between how most of us change in the two years between 16 and 18 and the two years between say 26 and 28.
Hi Sarah, glad to see there is someone with some sense on here. I see you!
I used to own a tattoo shop. I would never have permitted any tattoo artist to give this tattoo to a 16 year old. Your mind at 16 is way different than it will be as an adult. This is a huge tattoo that would be next to impossible to cover up at a later date.
I’m glad that Sophia has her own identity and can look and dress how she wants. But chances are she will regret this large tattoo especially in that location. You can’t take it back once you’ve done it. Your two choices would be an equally huge cover up or multiple laser treatments. Neither option is great in this case.
I completely agree. I have a lot of well done work over quite a bit of my body, but now as an adult, there ARE many larger tattoos I would go back and not get. It suited who I was at the time, but we grow and change so much from our younger years. It’s hard telling that to a teen when they think they have the world by the ass, but I would have encouraged her to wait.
I don’t agree with the tattoos with her age but the short of Sofia holding her belly was a good one lol.