Halsey got some new ink, and there’s more to it than meets the eye.
The singer appeared on Saturday Night Live this weekend to perform with Lil Wayne on a rendition of his Tha Carter V track “Can’t Be Broken.” She took to social media right after to document the evening: first on Instagram, where she posted a photo with Lil Wayne, then on Twitter, where she shared a first look at her new tattoo...along with some backstory.
“‘On my Libra scale I’m weighin sins and forgiveness,’” she wrote, quoting both a Lil Wayne lyric from his song “She Will” and part of the line she inked on her arm.
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While the tattoo was out of sight underneath an oversized leather jacket, Halsey apparently took the stage with a memento of her lifelong fandom. “Got this yatted [sic] by @jonboytattoo seconds before walking onstage,” she wrote.
But there’s more. The tweet continued, “Thanks for writing this one out for me @LilTunechi” — the tattoo, a small sketch of a balanced scale with the words “sins” and “forgiveness” on either side, was presumably scripted in Lil Wayne’s own handwriting.
“#libragang,” Halsey added, referencing both her and Lil Wayne’s astrological sign. Along with the line’s thematic harmony — the push and pull between committing sins and granting forgiveness — the scale, too, is an homage to the stars.
“On my Libra scale I’m weighin sins and forgiveness.” Got this yatted by @jonboytattoo seconds before walking onstage. thanks for writing this one out for me @LilTunechi ⚖️ #libragang pic.twitter.com/gtYheVYKJL
— h (@halsey) November 11, 2018
The tattoo, though, might not just be a thoughtful tribute to an iconic artist. It could also be Halsey’s way of calling out past and recent pain in her life, including her tumultuous on-and-off relationship with rapper G-Eazy since 2017.
It wouldn’t be an unexpected move — both in her work and online, Halsey’s been candid about their relationship before. The pair broke up again late last month, and she had tweeted a similar thought shortly after reports of their split were made public. “@ me: life is not pain vs happiness. one does not replace the other. they exist together,” she wrote. Her tweet thread ended with a note-to-self to keep that mantra in mind moving forward — and this tattoo might just be her way of keeping true to that promise.