We Spoke to the Teenager Who Got Mia Khalifa's Face Tattooed On His Body

Photo via Instagram

This article originally appeared on VICE Brazil

Being a teenager is rough, but it's especially rough when you're a teenager and you decide to get the face of your idol tattooed on your leg, only to have your idol call you an idiot in front of her 758,000 Instagram followers. That's exactly what happened to F.A., a 17-year-old Brazilian student who had the delicate features of the Lebanese-American former porn star/current webcam model Mia Khalifa tattooed on his leg. Mia wasn't impressed, and made that known on her official Instagram account by calling him an "idiot" three times in one post:

F.A. had not seen this backlash coming. He's a fan of Mia Khalifa (who, despite only dedicating herself to porn for three months, made big waves in the industry, being ranked the number one searched porn star on PornHub in December of 2014) and he just thought it would be nice to have her face on his body. It wasn't that big of a deal for him – he might be a minor, but already has 12 other tattoos. Plus, the tattoo artist he found was willing to work for free.

He tagged Mia's official account in the picture he posted of his new tattoo, and then received a notification that she had tagged him back. "I didn't expect her to see it. I thought: this girl is famous, I'm from a town in middle-of-nowhere Brazil," he tells me over the phone. "I never thought she would see it, post it on her profile and, worse, call me an idiot."

VICE: How big of a fan of Mia are you?
F.A.: Well, I think almost every man in Brazil knows her. But I follow her on Instagram and Facebook. I know she went to college, that she's married. Stuff like that. I saw her face and just thought, 'I have to get this girl marked on my body.' So I did.

Why?
Well, it's like – in the past, sailors used to have images of Marilyn Monroe tattooed on them. So I thought it was a good idea to have one of Mia, like a celebration of that past. I knew most people would make fun of me, though.

What was it like when you saw the notification that she had tagged you?
I thought it was great at first: "Fuck, Mia Khalifa tagged me!" But then read "idiot", "idiot", "idiot". That was harsh. I don't know how to explain it – I felt sad. I got the tattoo out of love and admiration. But it didn't bother me enough to consider having it removed. I don't think I'll ever get it removed – I don't regret getting it at all.

Did you reply to her post?
No. I did receive a lot of messages from random strangers calling me an idiot. Other people defended me. But I don't care about all of that. My friends think I'm a legend – they say the only person who this could happen to is a Brazilian.

Has the tattoo turned out exactly the way you wanted it?
More or less. I wanted it for months, but the first artist I spoke to about it asked for R$1,500 [£376]. Then I asked someone else, who said he could do it for free. So I said, "Lets go!" It's not 100 percent, but that guy was good. It looks a lot like her. I really like the result.

Does your mum know who Mia Khalifa is?
No. I've mentioned her, but my mum doesn't know who she is, exactly. And the tattoos are just something I do – something I like. I have 13 in total now, and I'm learning to do it myself. My mum doesn't bother me about it.

I'm happy to hear that don't have any regrets.
I do what I want and I let other people do what they want. My body, my rules.

More on VICE:

These Are the Most Popular Bad Tattoos in the UK and Ireland

Photographing People While They Get a Tattoo

10 Questions You Always Wanted to Ask a Person With a Face Tattoo