An Australian tattooist has lost his job after his tattoo mocking the political assassination of American conservative icon Charlie Kirk caused a huge backlash.
Tattoo artist Ben Burdekin, who worked at Downunder Tattoo in Newcastle, NSW, shared a photo and video of the offensive ink – which showed a bullet coming out of Kirk’s neck with the words “thoughts and prayers” – on Instagram last week.
“Bad pizza is still better than a hole in the neck,” his caption read.
“I don’t condone the killing of anyone for the sake of differing views but if this tattoo is the worst thing you see today then what’s happening in the rest of the world is going to rock you to your core.”
Vile Charlie Kirk tattoo proudly posted by tattooist Ben Burdekin at Down Under Tattoo in Newcastle, NSW. pic.twitter.com/dR959XbuLw
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) September 20, 2025
But Downunder Tattoo revealed on Monday that Burdekin was no longer working for them.
“We are aware of a tattoo recently shared online by a former artist. While the artwork was created and shared while they were with us, we have since parted ways. We apologise for any concern or distress this situation has caused,” they said in a statement.
Burdekin also made a short statement on his Instagram page, writing: “I apologise for any distress caused by the tattoo I recently shared. I am no longer working at Downunder tattoo.”
The tattoo sparked outrage on social media, and Burdekin has since deleted personal photos from his account after being hit with a flood of negative feedback.
The controversy comes after South Australia Police put a senior officer under investigation for celebrating Kirk’s death on social media, calling it “wonderful” and praising the aim of the shooter.
Header image: The offensive tattoo (Instagram).
