‘Black Ink Crew’ Recap: Ceaser & Teddy Confront Bae over Tattoo Controversy + Expert Steps In

black ink crew season 9 episode 14
Photo Credit: VH1/YouTube

On the recent episode of “Black Ink Crew,” the gang deals with the fallout from an unsatisfied customer. Unfortunately for Bae, the battle of the sexes competition resulted in the client complaining about her choice of words. Even though Bae never told the client she was too black to get a full-color tattoo, that’s what it felt like to the client. And this isn’t good for a business that was created with people of color in mind. 

When Ceaser and Teddy learn about what happened during the competition, Ceaser realizes he needs to call in a favor from a friend and an expert to show his artists how to tattoo on dark-skinned clients. As for Teddy, he just wants to make sure Bae understands that she can be a bit more sensitive and thoughtful when it comes to her words. 

Plus, Spyder finally finds out why he’s been having chronic pain. And his journey into healing his body can officially begin. 

Here’s a recap for, “Customer Service 101.”

Click next for the details. 

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22 comments

  1. I’m really disgusted with this show and the fan base. And it was disturbing how Bae walked out the shop while a dark skinned black man tried to explain why the black woman was offended. Then to top it off I see all these black people defending Bae saying she can’t be wrong because her baby daddy is black meanwhile they are bashing Puma and the client…you know, actual black people. Whew.

    1. They look silly defending Bae because she and every artist there that day were very unprofessional. Krystal refused to participate, the other Asian artist was too busy trying to hook up with some guy there, Bae just walked out before the session was over, and the tattoo Vanity did wasn’t good. Bae may have had good intentions, but her refusal to hear what Puma and the client had to say was hypocritical considering all the preaching she’s done about ignorance towards Asians.

  2. This show is weird. Why are Bae and Puma even there when they own their own shops? Dark skinned people are always told to shut up and stop being sensitive whenever they speak up about anything. So the reactions online aren’t surprising. Lastly, if Black Ink actually had a black female tattoo artist, she could have explained things in a way that made the client comfortable. If Black Ink is supposed to be about providing black people a service they can’t get everywhere, why are none of the female artists black?

  3. All three of you are wrong,Bae was only consulting and just told the young lady, that the colors she wanted wasn’t right because they would fade. I went through the same thing with my first tattoo and I understood what the tattoo artist was saying and wasn’t hurt with his wording. By the way I’m not as dark as the young lady that was in the show. People just need to stop being sensitive when being told things that they need to know and can’t. Bae did her job consulting the young lady in the design and coloring, maybe she could have said it differently, but like she said she was only thinking about the tattoo. Its a show and stop being so serious,they do show what they want you to see.

    1. They aren’t wrong, you’re just like most people and don’t care enough about dark skinned peoples feelings because colorism is something you embrace subconsciously. Anyone with common sense and no racial biases understands those clients did not get good service. Bae needs to learn how to tattoo black people of all shades. If a tattoo artist is telling you that you can’t have certain colors, they’re not that good. But y’all have been overhyping Bae for years now. All it takes is a nonblack woman being a cringeworthy caricature and y’all will defend them with your lives. Eww.

    2. Umm no. There’s literally tattoo artists out here who specialize in tattooing people with dark skin. And one method used is called color theory. Ryan Henry even discussed this. I knew Bae didn’t know what she was talking about when she asked why the client had red tattooed on her. I’ve seen dark skinned people with beautiful full color tattoos that included reds and greens. You’ve just embraced one of the most racist elements of the tattoo industry. Do better.

    3. If you’re not as dark as the client, why are you downplaying her perspective? Y’all don’t have the same experiences and you’re actually being insensitive. Ask yourself why you feel you have the authority to dismiss a dark skinned woman’s perspective when you don’t have the same experiences. And ask yourself why you have empathy for Bae, an Asian woman, but not a dark skinned Black woman.

  4. Young Bae is the typical tattoo artist who has no clue how to do color tattoos on dark skinned people. And the fact that no one wanted to tattoo the client but Vanity is absolutely rooted in colorism. They saw her complexion and wanted no parts. This is what happens when none of the women “working” in the shop are black.

    1. I caught that too! From the moment they saw that woman they knew they didn’t want to tattoo her! This happens all the time! A lot of artists even the black ones won’t even include dark skinned people in their portfolios! Spyder should have been called out too!

  5. Bae was being honest with her consultation. The client simply took what she said totally out of context to make it seem racist. Puma didn’t help.

    WE ALL HAVE SAID THE ‘WRONG’ THING OR IT WAS MISINTERPRETED…ITS HUMAN NATURE!

    I’m also tired of people trying to make something racist or colorist(the new terminology on the block).

    CAN WE ALL GET ALONG??

  6. No Bae was not honest, she’s ignorant to all of the different tattooing methods and so are most of the viewers who are defending her. Puma took up for a black woman like he should have. Her feelings matter and she deserved so much better. Kudos to Ceaser for bringing in someone with the experience Bae clearly lacks.

  7. Dark skinned people can absolutely have beautiful and long lasting full color tattoos. I’m honestly not surprised at the comments on the socials from Black Ink Crew stans who are ignorant and colorist. These are the same people who defended Sky for years.

    @ Shannon, thank you for bringing up Ryan. If anyone is interested in learning more about how to properly tattoo full color on dark skin, Ryan has a great video about it on YouTube. Too many artists and black people are ignorant about this topic. Y’all are always finding ways to tell dark skinned people they are too dark to do and have things. Rid yourselves of that plantation mindset please.

    1. Don’t forget the time when the Black Ink Chicago fans agreed when Lily told Charmaine she was blacker than her because she’s from the hood and Charmaine is not. Oh and they also defended Lily calling black people the n word. Unfortunately there are a lot of problematic and anti black people in this fan base.

  8. I have no problem calling people out when they label something as colorism when it’s not, but yeah, this didn’t sit well with me either. This is one of the few times Ceaser, Teddy, and Puma were right.

  9. Colorism is the reason why dark skinned women are dragged, told to shut up, and labeled as too sensitive when they choose to speak on their perspectives. Society has made progress with addressing homophobia, racism, misogyny etc. but colorism is something people don’t want to acknowledge or let go of. We see it every season on multiple shows and social media daily.

  10. Bruh it’s like the Twilight Zone. On any given day we all can see and acknowledge how unprofessional the Black Ink artists are. How the f-ck did anyone watch the last two episodes and think Bae was professional? That consultation was sh-tty from jump. And the men did equally as bad. They just slid under the radar because their client didn’t complain to Puma.

  11. Young Bae really just summed up what a lot of these so called non-black BLM supporters are. They’re supportive until you call them out for being insensitive. I was fine with how she handled the client because I get that not all tattoo artists have the same methods. Some know how to tattoo color on darker skin, some don’t. But she rubbed me the wrong way when she wouldn’t even try to listen to what Puma was saying and walked out while he was speaking. Mind you she called out the group for making racially insensitive comments and they were receptive. They didn’t play victim. Now she’s playing helpless victim and making Puma out to be the bad guy when he’s entitled to call her out because he’s a dark skinned man who has to deal with biases towards his complexion everyday. I can’t help but wonder what some of these Bae supporters would have said if it was a light skinned black woman ie. Gizelle/Robyn who did this. Y’all are real selective when it comes to this stuff.

  12. It’s also very alarming that we watched a group of non-black women make a dark skinned woman feel like she can’t have certain tattoos because she’s dark and you have a good chunk of the fans fine with this but bashing the black client and black men who validated her concerns. I thought there was a protect black women movement happening. Or are dark skinned women not included or worthy of protection and support? How shameful.

  13. I’m old school and was taught to live by the golden rule. So if I offend someone, even if it’s unintentional, I’m going to apologize and try to learn from it. It’s important to always have empathy. I don’t like how defensive Bae was. She wouldn’t have liked it if she got that energy from the group when she told them they offended her with their comments about Asians.

  14. I think some people are siding with Bae because black people are really comfortable saying dark skinned people are too dark for things like wearing red lipstick, getting tattoos, wearing blonde hair, wearing certain colors, wearing straight wigs and weaves, wearing certain makeup/nail polish, going to the beach…going outside for a long period of time…I mean I can go on. A lot of us don’t see an issue with colorism or even realize that a lot of what we say and do is colorist. When we try to talk about colorism, a lot of so called pro black people start speaking exactly like racists. It’s sad. This issue is bigger than Bae. I don’t expect her to understand but it’s crazy seeing how many black people still don’t get this.

  15. Surprisingly, Teddy had the most common sense and mature outlook. It’s pretty simple, since Bae has spent the last several episodes talking about racism towards Asians and how people need to stop being racially insensitive towards Asians, she needs to keep that same energy with black people. That woman was offended. She came to a black owned shop just to be told that her skin tone didn’t allow her to have the tattoo she envisioned. That should never happen, especially at a black owned shop. All Bae had to do was apologize to the woman and make an effort to understand. Instead she sulked and acted bratty.

  16. WTF I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY TF DO OUR SHOW producers FEEL OBLIGATED TO GIVE ANY OF THESE “OTHERS” A freaking Platform on OUR SHOWS!!!! Every Freaking time we Get Something H!spanics Or A$!ans Feel that we are SUPPOSED to include their MF AC£s!!!!

    TEDDY AND “SOGGY LOOKING P○SSI£ LIPPED” CEASAR are Haters of Black Women!!!! They Display that EVERY Chance that they get!!!! Especially Special Needs AC£ Teddy!!! There’s NOtta One Dark Sistah on ANY of the these Black ink Franchises!!!!

    BOTTOM LINE….YB’s Butt NEEDs to GO!!!!!

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