Dave Bautista Covers Up Tattoo Linked To Filipino Boxer Manny Pacquiao Over Anti-Gay Statements
Image: Dave Bautista. Image: Facebook
Glass Onion and Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista got a tattoo covered up because it was linked to a former friend who subsequently turned out to be homophobic.
In an interview with GQ, Bautista talked about his many tattoos.
‘I Just Could No Longer Call Him A Friend’
Pointing to a tattoo located on his upper forearm of a woman wearing a sugar skull face painting, the former wrestler said, “This one, it used to be a team logo. I was a part of a team and a person I considered a friend and someone I really looked up to – he later came out publicly with some anti-gay statements and turned out to be an extreme homophobe.
“And so I had a huge issue with it. It’s a personal issue with me – my mom is a lesbian and I just could no longer call him a friend, and so I had it covered up.”
He does not name the former friend in the interview. However, in an Instagram post from October 2016, Bautista shows a photo of before and after the cover-up.
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The old tattoo was a flaming meteor which was the team logo of a team that Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao is part of.
In February 2016, during a campaign for the Philippine Senate, Pacquiao said, “It’s common sense. Do you see animals mating with the same sex? Animals are better because they can distinguish male from female. If men mate with men and women mate with women they are worse than animals.”
Soon after, Pacquiao issued an apology on social media.
It read, “I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals. Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt. I still stand on my belief that I’m against same-sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I’m not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I’m praying for you.”
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‘Cover-Ups Are Part Of Your Story’
Talking about cover-up tattoos, Bautista said he has no regrets.
“I have a lot of cover ups. I think cover ups are part of your story, part of your life story.
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“You know, you have regrets, you make mistakes. And so you try to fix them as best you can. And that’s what they are; cover ups are repairs of mistakes.”
Bautista recently starred in the sequel to Knives Out, Glass Onion. He is best known for his portrayal of Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
