A woman has been left horrified after finding out the real meaning of her tattoo.
Texas-based prison nurse Jelisa Miller recently discovered that the inking she proudly got as a teenager, believing it was a tribute to Nicki Minaj, carries a very different, and far more dangerous meaning.
Miller recalled the moment she learned the truth about her tattoo, and the incident quickly caught a lot of attention online.
At 18, Miller was a devoted fan of Nicki Minaj and inspired by the rapper’s song ‘5 Star Chick,’ which had just been released at the time.
“Back in the day, when I was young and dumb, I was a huge Nicki Minaj fan,” she explained in her viral TikTok. “Like, I wanted to be her so bad.”
Eager to celebrate her admiration, she visited a tattoo parlor with a friend and asked the artist to tattoo ‘five star chick’ on her wrist.
“I walk into the tattoo shop and I tell the man, ‘I want you to put five stars on me, because I’m a five-star chick,’” Miller said.
The final design featured five prominent stars — a look she wore with pride for years.
However, it wasn’t until she began her career as a nurse in a correctional facility that Miller learned the truth.
Surrounded by gang-affiliated inmates and trained in identifying gang symbols, Miller was shocked to discover that her tattoo is nearly identical to an established gang emblem.
“I get older, I become a nurse, I work in a prison — and I find out that these five stars are affiliated with a gang,” she said. “This is literally a gang tattoo.”
What she once viewed as a fun nod to her music idol is now something that could pose a serious misunderstanding in a high-risk environment.
“Now I gotta explain to all these inmates that I’m not affiliated,” she joked. “I’m just a Nicki fan!”
Understanding the potential implications, both professionally and personally, Miller has decided to get the tattoo covered up.
“I never imagined something tied to a song I loved could also mean something so different in another world,” she said. “So now I’m getting it covered, because yeah, no thank you.”
@withlovejaye #voiceeffects #storytime on how i found out while working as a #prisonnurse that my #tattoo was actually indeed a #gang symbol. #5star #tattoofail #neveragain #foryoupage ♬ original sound – WithLoveJaye
You can watch the video via ARK Media.