Shemar Moore Explains Barack Obama Back Tattoo
Most people get a tattoo and have a great story behind it. Well, Shemar Moore is one of those people who has some interesting tattoo pieces and the stories behind them are even better. One of his iconic pieces includes his Barack Obama tattoo artwork.
The 54-year-old actor recently explained the background of his Obama piece and the tattoos he still has plans to get in the future. Moore told PEOPLE that one of the many tattoos he has received in the last few years includes a Barack Obama tattoo located on his back.
Shemar Moore Obama Tattoo Meaning Explained
The tattoo is a large “Carpe Diem” that runs across his back shoulder to shoulder with figures of Barack Obama, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Moore explains that the tattoo of Obama’s face has a deeper meaning to him, personally.
“It is the first Black president, but what is Barack Obama? He’s half Black, half white,” Moore, who is also biracial. “He lived in Hawaii. I lived in Hawaii. I have roots in Hawaii. He was raised by the white side of him. I was raised by the white side, but stayed true to the Black side, honored the Black side.”
When Moore got the tattoo, he tweeted a photo of it with the caption, “Obama, MLK, Malcolm X are in the letters. My Heroes!”
This is not Moore’s only tattoo, he has multiple pieces with significant meaning. He explains the meaning behind the lion tattoo that he also has in honor of his mother who died in 2020. “I have a lion tattoo because my mother and I were in Ghana and we went on safari,” he tells PEOPLE. “I was 4 and I fell in love with the big cat. I said ‘Mommy, the big cat, mommy, the big cat,’ which was the lion. And then as I got older, I was enamored by lions and got to understand lions. And I liked the king lion because I’m a king for myself and for those I love.”
Although he has multiple other tattoos already, Moore tells PEOPLE that he still has plans to get more. But, what tattoo could be next for the actor? Check out the full interview with PEOPLE here to see what else Moore has to say bout his current and future pieces.
