THEY’RE INKED FOR RECOVERY
This past Saturday, Paris Jackson, daughter of the late Michael, and her godfather Macaulay Culkin walked into the West Hollywood, Calif., ink emporium Tattoo Mania and emerged with matching spoon tattoos on their forearms.
The utensil inkings got celebrity gossipers in a tizzy as they tried to decipher the meaning of these everyday objects.
In reality, the spoons stand for nothing mysterous. Strictly speaking, they relate to “spoon theory,” which ties into a metaphor for those suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome.
But the symbolism is not exactly cut and dried.
“People think of it as a sign of getting through chronic illness or recovering from some kind of an addiction,” says Kevin Wilson, who runs Sacred Tattoo in Soho.
“The way I’ve heard, it’s about coming back from some kind of hardship or a type of suffering.”
Earlier this year, Paris, 19, told Rolling Stone that she had attempted suicide “multiple times” as a teen. She also detailed her battles with depression and drugs.
Meanwhile, Culkin, 36, has denied rumors that he has battled drug addiction, telling the Guardian last year, “No, I was not pounding six grand of heroin every month or whatever.”
It was Culkin’s first tattoo, but just one of many for Paris. In June, she had the words “Apple Head” scripted on her left foot. Apparently, it was one of the nicknames she called her father.