Celebrity tattoo artist and makeup mogul Kat Von D is facing new legal trouble in California.
The 40-year-old is being sued for unpaid rent and damages to the rental property she transformed into her famed L.A. tattoo parlor High Voltage Tattoo, and she may be forced to fork out tens of thousands of dollars.
Although details remain scarce, TMZ reported the property’s landlord is suing Von D for unpaid rent, claiming that she owes over $92,000 for remodeling fees and back rent.
The back rent was from several months in 2020 and future rent that will come due in 2022.
Von D is also being sued for damages, the lawsuit stating that the tattoo artist removed ceiling tiles, painted the ceiling, removed wallpaper from the entire store, and also demolished a wall located in the middle of the West Hollywood shop.
The makeup mogul opened High Voltage back in 2007 after she was offered her own shop following her time on Miami Ink. The shop was featured in her TLC show “L.A. Ink.”
In October 2021, Von D announced that after 14 years in business, the L.A. tattoo parlor would close. She went on to explain that she and her husband “recently purchased a beautiful home on a bit of land in rural Indiana,” adding that “the more time we spend out there we realize we feel more at home there than we do here in LA.”
She said at the time that “after much thought, we have decided we will permanently be moving to Indiana at the end of this year.”
“We plan on selling our beautiful home here, and I will most likely open a private studio in Indiana once we are done with the house remodel there,” she wrote at the time.
“This means that, sadly, I will be closing my beloved tattoo shop [High Voltage] here in West Hollywood on Dec 1. I didn’t think it would make sense to keep it open if I wasn’t present, and aside from coming back to work on music with my band, we don’t plan on returning to LA very often.”