First, and above all, I would like to reach out and thank each and every fan or friend who has phoned, emailed, or came to the Tattoo shop. Your expressions of support, kind words, and love for the entire staff/crew of Miami Ink and for myself-have been appreciated beyond words. It is because of your steadfast loyalty, trust, and faith in the Miami Ink project, that our success has been made possible. I am speaking to everyone. I am speaking to those of you who have known me for a decade or more, and also to those who have taken a moment out of their life to send a message of support. It's something that I haven't taken lightly or will ever take for granted. Obviously, I can't respond to every message sent because of commitments with the new shop, family, and business. However, I can take this time to connect with ALL of you here, and so I hope that if you sent a positive message or comment to me I want you to know that I am profoundly thankful.
Over the past several years, all of our hopes and dreams have been made possible due to the many opportunities that life has extended us. I'm not the type of jerk who sits back and arrogantly thinks that I am ENTITLED to anything. It's ALL been made possible thanks to our audience, tattoo clients, families, loved ones, and friends here in Miami and across the globe. For those of you who believed in us then and continue to do so now, I am eternally grateful to have you stand beside me, especially in this storm of negativity drawn from the actions of someone outside our circle. This large and close network has been one of life's blessings and has always outweighed ANY negativity directed toward me. IT REMAINS THIS WAY TODAY.
Unfortunately, I have also received some vicious comments and mail sent through myspace. I can't say that I wasn't expecting it. As I know, KAT VON D has fiercely loyal friends, and that I have my own critics that have seized this moment to "take a shot" at me. Jealousy, spite, resentment, hatred and vengeance are emotions that weigh heavy on the spirit and conscience. I DO feel bad for those who actually wasted so much as one second of their precious life to sit at their computer and type with the intention of berating me, questioning my integrity, or threatening me....all in an obscene manner.
Without hesitation, I can say that some of it made me upset. Are you surprised? I am not writing a letter of denial, or insulting you back? IF your intention was to make me angry or frustrated then you have accomplished your goal. I can tell you this because I am NOT a LIAR. Your mind may have raced ahead of this letter and have already muttered "that's because you know it's true as *&%L. WRONG! Naturally, if I read a personal message of which I can obviously see was intended to offend me, I react as any human would. I am human! I have strengths. I have weaknesses.
One of my weaknesses is that I believe people should be fair in judging a person's character and qualities. Sadly, not one negative comment was fair, insightful, or based on truth. I am willing to admit that the show Miami Ink may convey my personality or qualities with some distortion-as does anything filmed for 8 hours and edited down to 30 minute segments. This doesn't excuse you, but rather serves as a warning that nobody should take their history or facts from television or movies. IF you have formed a negative opinion of me or ANYONE in your life without objectivity or evidence, then you have created your OWN reality. I can't assume you will read this and be convinced of this, but perhaps some sort of deep self-examination of your critical thinking is necessary and should be attempted before making judgments or firing-off emails that condemn.
I also wish to clear some air regarding the Anti-Semitic publicity photo that Kat Von D has denied writing. First, let me say that neither I nor, the press has ever accused Kat Von D of being a RACIST. Her publicity photo was an act of Anti-Semitism. The Jewish faith is NOT a racial characteristic. There are Jews found in all races across the globe, just as there are with Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and with ALL faiths. Faith has no racial boundaries; ironically, just as Anti-Semitism or racism. Both are ignorant and equally distributed.
Being fair, Kat Von D did write "against the advice of (her) my publicist..." Perhaps as a preface to her denial and defending against claims of RACISM when there is hard-proof that she is an Anti-Semite. This is evidence that her publicist was doing a great service to her in advising. I assume her publicist was referring to the allegations of her Anti-Semitism.
Kat has accused me of being "insecure, jealous, and (having) a lack of work ethic". If that was the reason we supposedly went our separate ways then I would expect she would have signed her publicity photo along those lines. For example: Get to work you insecure, jealous (insert some general descriptive insult). To defend myself against claims of being insecure, jealous or of lacking work-ethic is really pointless. Unless someone can produce a document of analysis that states they are 99% positive I am ALL or at least one! Insecurity is when you can't confront conflict or your frustration reaches the point of insults that delve into one's personal faith, or belittling the cultural similarities they share and hold sacred. Being Jewish has nothing to do with her claims of me being insecure, jealous, or holding a poor work ethic. Finally, Kat Von D claims, "the people I once loved and cared for like family are the one's responsible for this..." This is an obvious contradiction to the initial claim that one of her thousands of publicity photos fell into the wrong hands and was forged. The documents posted on TMZ include the date of the incident, analysis, and other details that present evidence which makes her denial yet another lie. I am NOT the only Jew at Miami Ink. Kat's assistant, and a large number of staff are Jews. Faith is not something that anyone in our family has ever considered a prerequisite for friendship, trust, or love.
I DID NOT RELEASE ANY DOCUMENTS to the PRESS, as anyone can see from the dates etc. I did not seek public opinion as a remedy to her act. I used the proper channels afforded to me by our network/production. I did not carry the complaint further out of FEAR of negative repercussions or retaliation by the network- NOT because I was not prepared to go the distance. It was my sense of loyalty to protect those who would suffer adversely from any consequences which may have been provoked. Who ever released the materials MUST have done so out of principle. I respect that immensely and I am certain it was done with the best intentions. However, they do not carry the same responsibilities to the dedicated and loyal people who work at the tattoo shop who could potentially suffer.
There is no sense in hindsight now. It's out there and it's irrefutable. I have nothing to defend against or apologize for. Kat Von D's denial and defense attacks me, and also those around me for lack of a valid defense. Had she truly been innocent of such deplorable acts, it would be evident in her message on myspace. Her suggesting the document is a forgery, then proceeding to shift the blame is-to quote her-"truly a sad attempt."
I think the situation is best summarized by the Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemöller who wrote the following passage that was published in 1955.
First They Came for the Jews
"First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me." ( Martin Niemöller) 1955
Thank you to everyone who has been in our lives as a positive force. Your energy, support and honesty have been the fuel to our success. Always believe in yourself and those around you. Have a clear heart and mind, and you will rest peacefully, find happiness, and most of all appreciate the gifts life has given you without ever taking for granted where they came from.
