What’s in a name? Well, if you’re Summer Walker, it’s worth tattooing on your face—and if this is love, we don’t want it. Earlier this month, the already heavily inked singer-songwriter blessed fans with a slew of new breakup songs and empowering messages on her sophomore studio album Still Over It, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and broke her own record for largest streaming debut-week for a female R&B artist. Now, a few folks are wondering if the 25-year-old is sending mixed messages after she debuted a series of photos on Instagram of herself and a man presumed to be her beau with the name “Larry” newly tattooed on her upper cheekbone and the caption “🖤Bestfriend.”
In case you’re wondering, the man is question is apparently not producer London on da Track (birth name: London Tyler Holmes, so probably not)—who worked on both of Walker’s albums and with whom she shares an infant daughter. But the new tatt is part of a matching set, as “Larry” also has “Summer” emblazoned above his brow—because all’s fair in love and body art, we guess. To be fair, it’s far from Walker’s first foray into above-the-neck ink; but somehow, the addition of a man’s name into the mix proved a bridge too far for fans, who were both confused by the gesture and the moniker.
In fact, as questionable as folks found the gesture itself, Black Twitter’s responses to the name now permanently etched into Walker’s face were equally hilarious. (No shade to the Larrys out there; we just report.)
As for Walker, she’s no doubt unfazed by the criticism—as those with face tattoos tend to be. In a follow-up post, she wrote:
Moral of the story is (if you listened to my album)….learn from your mistakes, pick yourself up, heal, find happiness, and most importantly Move On...It’s funny how life works...I never thought right after experiencing the lowest point in my life I’d be the happiest I ever been in my entire life. God is Good.
Aye, if she likes it, we love it (okay, we don’t—but it’s her face, not ours). And as some speculated, the dramatic gesture will likely make great material for Walker’s future albums. (I mean...it works for Adele, right?)
Nevertheless, like diamonds, tattoos are forever, so for her sake, we hope this is the real deal...or she’s going to be needing more ink soon. Until then, we’re just here for the comments.