Kristen Bell’s Hilarious Tattoo Prank: Uncover the Story Behind the Viral Video

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American actress Kristen Bell is known for being a wholesome but hilarious celebrity who often plays jokes and pranks alone, with other celebrities, and probably most notably with her husband, Dax Shepard. One of the pranks she pulled that has been getting attention many years later is her “body of lies.”

In 2012, Kristen Bell filmed a video with the viral YouTube channel Funny or Die, revealing one of her biggest secrets: that her body is actually almost entirely covered in tattoos!

Kristen Bell's tattoos are from a skit with Funny Or Die in 2012, showcasing her comedic talents and love for pranksKristen Bell’s tattoos are from a skit with Funny Or Die in 2012, showcasing her comedic talents and love for pranks (Credit: Funny Or Die)

The Funny or Die YouTube channel humorously confirmed that Kristen Bell’s tattoos were real through a spoof interview. For those who haven’t seen the video or realized the joke, it was clearly a prank (spoiler alert)!

At the time, it seemed most viewers recognized the humor. Many YouTube comments praised Bell for her comedic talent, noting that these kinds of pranks are why fans adore her.

Kristen Bell has 72 butterfly tattoos for each year the South African apartheid was enactedKristen Bell has 72 butterfly tattoos for each year the South African apartheid was enacted (Credit: Funny Or Die)

However, pictures and clips from the video were pulled out of context and recirculated around the popular video app TikTok in 2020. This made Kristen Bell’s “Secret Tattoos” viral on TikTok for viewers who had not seen the original video eight years prior.

Behind the Scenes of the Tattoo Cover-Up

In the Funny or Die video, Bell has tons of tattoos, from butterflies to stars to hearts and other symbols all over her body.

The tattoos even feature popular television show characters like Taz from Looney Tunes and the dual characters of Steve Urkel and his alter ego Stefan Urquelle from the hit ’90s sitcom Family Matters. In the video, Bell humorously claims to have “214 professional tattoos and 9 I’ve done myself.”

Images of Kristen Bell's tattoo-covered body from a 2012 skit went viral again in 2021, fooling new audiencesImages of Kristen Bell’s tattoo-covered body from a 2012 skit went viral again in 2021, fooling new audiences (Credit: Funny Or Die)

The video is a behind-the-scenes-style parody of what it’s like for the star to cover her tattoos every day. Throughout the video, Bell explains the various meanings and symbolism of her tattoos with a completely serious face but totally outrageous and satirical answers.

The video also shows the alleged time and effort her makeup team takes to cover up all of her tattoos to maintain her clean and wholesome image. A few members of her team are also interviewed and hint at how difficult and exhausting it is to cover all her tattoos daily.

“Kristen gets here at 3:30 am every morning. It takes about twelve to fourteen hours to cover up all of her tattoos,” Bell’s supposed makeup artist says.

The video claims she has 214 professional tattoos and nine she’s done herself, but the true number is zero. However, wouldn’t it be fun if some of her tattoos were real?

Kristen Bell’s Take on Real Tattoos

To give us some hope, Kristen Bell has openly stated that she is not against tattoos, nor is she against the idea of getting a real one for herself.

In her 2020 interview with the Mother.ly podcast, she stated, “Um, I realized I’ve had maternal instincts my entire life, and I never labeled them as that, but I will. I mean, at one point I’m going to get a little back tattoo that says there’s no such thing as other people’s children because there’s just not, I mean, I believe it to my core because everyone you pass on the street was celebrated when they were born.”

“I’ve always wanted a tattoo, but my husband does not like girls with tattoos,” she jokingly added when appearing in a Wired video in reference to Dax Shepard.

Kristen Bell’s Appearance at the Refugee Exhibit Opening

In April 2016, Kristen Bell joined Rashida Jones at the Refugee Exhibit Opening at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City, California.

Kristen Bell currently has no real tattoos, despite her convincing prank videoKristen Bell currently has no real tattoos, despite her convincing prank video (Credit: WENN / Charlie Steffens)

They were also accompanied by Tracee Ellis Ross, Amy Adams, Kristin Davis, and Maria Shriver.

Kristen Bell has not ruled out getting tattoos in the future, hinting at a possible real one somedayKristen Bell has not ruled out getting tattoos in the future, hinting at a possible real one someday (Credit: WENN / FayesVision)

The then-35-year-old American Veronica Mars actress and singer sported a silver metallic midi dress from the Camilla and Marc Spring 2016 collection featuring a v-neckline and back split detail.

Kristen Bell dazzles in a silver metallic midi dress from Camilla and Marc at the Refugee Exhibit OpeningKristen Bell dazzles in a silver metallic midi dress from Camilla and Marc at the Refugee Exhibit Opening (Credit: WENN / FayesVision / Charlie Steffens)

She accessorized with Jennifer Fisher jewelry and showed off her feet in “Darylin” pumps by Jimmy Choo.

Kristen Bell in a low-cut silver dress at the Refugee Exhibit OpeningKristen Bell in a low-cut silver dress at the Refugee Exhibit Opening held at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Century City on April 21, 2016 (Credit: WENN / FayesVision / Charlie Steffens)

You may recall that Kristen wore the exact same pair to the world premiere of “The Boss” in Los Angeles.

Kristen Bell shows off her feet in metallic pointy-toe Jimmy Choo pumpsKristen Bell shows off her feet in metallic pointy-toe Jimmy Choo pumps (Credit: WENN)

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