Breaking industry etiquette, a blowout with the network, and general bad behavior in public. The
drama behind the scenes of LA Ink could rival anything audiences saw on TLC’s once-hit series.
Tattoo enthusiasts were already familiar with the woman born Katherine Von Drachenberg prior to
her landing her own reality show, but LA Ink put Kat Von D on the map as a star in her own right.
As the in-demand inker revealed in an interview with Prick magazine,
she ended up on predecessor Miami Ink purely by chance, after covering for another employee who
was injured at the time. Von D quickly emerged as a fan favorite, and it didn't take long for
producers to give her a spinoff. LA Ink debuted in 2007, with the famed tattoo artist making it
clear to Inked magazine that the show was a totally different beast than Miami Ink.
Clearly, there was an appetite for Von D-centric content. As The Hollywood Reporter notes,
the series premiere scored massive numbers. An average of 2.9 million viewers tuned in to
watch the show's first episode, which was no small feat considering it aired at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday.
The mixture of drama, Von D's increasing celebrity, and the morbid curiosity of
watching people getting tattooed made LA Ink a must-watch in a way even the lead herself
never envisioned. However, after just four seasons, LA Ink was canceled. So what happened?
Kat Von D was already in high demand as a tattoo artist when LA Ink rolled around,
but the show proved so popular she quickly ended up completely buried in appointments.
Seeing as she was so well-established in the tattoo world, Von D never looked at being on
TV as her main money-maker. The former reality star explained to Dazed in 2019,
"I wanted to be able to tattoo freely and offer my craft as a
gift to whomever I tattooed. For me, it was liberating to take
the financial part of it out — but it's not something I necessarily 'promote.'"
It's therefore reasonable to assume Von D got sick of being so overwhelmed with work to the
point that tattooing was no longer enjoyable, which likely contributed to why LA Ink ended.
In August 2011, TLC confirmed midway through the fourth season of LA Ink that the show would
be wrapping up for good at the end of it. A month after the cancellation was announced,
Entertainment Weekly shared a preview clip from the season finale,
which left everything frustratingly up in the air for fans of the show.
Von D was still in the midst of her explosive on-again,
off-again relationship with controversial star Jesse James, and the final episode of LA
Ink found her considering leaving High Voltage behind to start a new life in Austin with him.
"I think that I'm the perfect girl for him and vica versa."
The shop's crew, understandably, was concerned about losing their jobs. It's worth noting,
however, that High Voltage remained open, at least through 2021, while
Von D and James split for good in September 2011. Shortly after the fourth season of LA
Ink was confirmed to be its last, Kat Von D took to Twitter to set the record straight, writing,
"I love how me deciding to not continue doing LA Ink, turns into being 'cancelled.' Thanks @TLC.
Regardless of everything I remain grateful." The tattoo artist, who was facing intense
media backlash at the time due to her tempestuous relationship with Jesse James, elaborated further
in a chat with People about what really happened behind the scenes. In particular, Von D alleged
that TLC was twisting certain events to make them seem more dramatic on the show. She explained,
"In an effort to capitalize on my recent breakup, the network has decided to focus
their energy on re-editing events that didn't happen while filming."
The former reality star argued that doing so was an insult to fans of the show, since it
compromised "the honesty" of what really happened. Although Kat Von D was adamant she walked away
from LA Ink on her own terms, the tattoo artist's reputation preceded her. Hollywood Life even
cheekily suggested LA Ink got canceled because of bad karma. Among other things, Von D was widely
known for walking out of interviews and canceling planned appearances with little to no notice.
Most reality stars attempt to launch another show after being kicked off wherever they started,
but Kat Von D has moved increasingly further away from the spotlight in the decade since
LA Ink went off the air, pursuing careers in the beauty and music industries instead.
As a profile in The Washington Post notes, she's endured more than her fair share of controversies,
from being accused of antisemitism to being labelled an anti-vaxxer. The road
from reality TV breakout star to makeup mogul to aspiring singer hasn't been easy for Von D,
and nowadays she simply wishes people would be, quote, "a lot gentler with each other."
Clearly, the legendary tattoo artist learned the hard way that not all attention is positive,
and it's unlikely we'll ever see her back on reality television
as a result. But Von D doesn't take any of it too hard, arguing,
"I'm equipped, like, I've been an outsider my entire life."
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