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TMZ

Every Nancy Mace Tattoo: The Definitive Video

On September 1, 2026, TMZ asked Rep. Nancy Mace about her tattoos on the Capitol steps. She pulled back her sleeve and said: 'I've got far more than nine, and I'm not done yet. I gotta finish my half sleeves.' This written record follows the Maceopedia documentary chapter by chapter: the February 27, 2026 Politico profile, the August 2026 reveal on her show GET MACED, her own posts, the reaction from conservative media, the Mrs. Dalloway line, and why she says she gets them, in her own words. It ends with all 15 designs on the public record, one by one, with the sources and the outlets credited.

"I've got far more than nine, and I'm not done yet. I gotta finish my half sleeves."

That is Rep. Nancy Mace, to TMZ on the Capitol steps, September 1, 2026. Two weeks earlier she had written on X that her "biceps should NOT be a news story," and the day after, her own show ran under the title "Nancy Mace BREAKS THE INTERNET with Tattoos." Fifteen designs are on the public record. She has not published a full list.

The full documentary, about eight minutes in six chapters, is on the Maceopedia YouTube channel. The Short plays above. This page is the written record of what the film shows.

Cold open

The film opens on TMZ. A reporter asks about her tattoos; Mace answers, "Look, I'll show you," and the reporter says, "Show us some ink, Nancy!" She lifts her sleeve: "Okay, see, it's my swallow. Is that cool? I got mama."

Then the number. On TMZ, Sept. 1, 2026: "I've got far more than nine, and I'm not done yet." On her own show GET MACED, Aug. 18, 2026: "The Internet is losing its f***ing mind over my biceps." To Piers Morgan, Sept. 1, 2026: "And I'll tell you, Piers, I've got more than nine." To NewsNation, Aug. 30, 2026: "Yeah, I have a few tattoos. I probably, I might have more than nine as what's been publicly reported." And on GET MACED, Aug. 18, 2026: "You don't have to like my ink. You don't even have to like me. Quite frankly, I don't care if you do."

Chapter 1: Feb. 27, 2026, the Politico profile

On February 27, 2026, Politico Magazine published a profile of Mace by Michael Kruse. Its headline quotes her: "'I Don't Know That I'll Ever Be OK With Myself.'" Kruse writes that she got her first nine tattoos "in rapid succession," in 2023 and 2024. The count of nine and the phrase "in rapid succession" are the writer's words, not hers.

Kruse writes that she says she got her tattoos not just to feel "the pain that I need to feel" but to "reclaim" her body and her identity. The quoted fragment, "the pain that I need to feel," sits inside his sentence. He also reports that one of the tattoos is the first line of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. The article gives no body location for it, and Mace is not quoted explaining it.

Chapter 2: The reveal

On August 12, 2026, Mace launched a show called GET MACED. Its opening montage shows her arms bare, covered in ink most viewers had not seen. Mediaite (Sean James) ran the headline "Nancy Mace Reveals Tattoos in Bikini Pic on New YouTube Show" and described "the word 'Justice' and what appears to be a lion on her left arm," a Virgin Mary or Catholic saint, and, on the other side, "a giant bird, a flower, and a tattoo of the sun." Some viewers asked whether the ink was real or made by A.I.

Mace answered in her own posts on August 17, 2026. With a photo of her arms: "Thoughts and prayers to all those affected by my sleeves. Made the mistake of opening my social media this afternoon. Some of yall are OUT OF CONTROL. My biceps should NOT be a news story. We have more important things to worry about." Replying to Laura Loomer, who had defended her: "Thanks Laura! The utter apocalypse over my biceps is funny." A follower took the bird on her shoulder for an eagle. Mace wrote back: "Hawk but same difference!"

The next day her show ran under the title "Nancy Mace BREAKS THE INTERNET with Tattoos." On it she said: "Apparently I posted one image of my arms one time and the internet had a meltdown. They reacted like C-SPAN got hijacked by a tattoo convention." And: "Yes, I have tattoos. I have a few of them. I might have more than a few. And no, they are not a federal emergency. So stop."

Chapter 3: The reaction

Ben Shapiro, The Ben Shapiro Show (The Daily Wire), Aug. 17, 2026: "If you had a friend who got like nine tattoos in the span of just a couple of months, you might check in to make sure they're doing okay. Now imagine your friend then told you they got all those tattoos because they needed to feel pain. Now you'd probably urge them to seek some professional help if you're a good friend." Of the reveal: "Now, Nancy Mace has decided to do a body reveal in which apparently she joined the Hells Angels."

A host of BlazeTV's Stu and Dave Do America, Aug. 19, 2026, quoting the Politico headline: "I don't know that I'll ever be okay with myself. Like, this is like really reading to me as a cry for help frankly."

Kat Timpf, Fox News, Aug. 19, 2026: "But at the same time, I really hope you're okay. I hope things are better now."

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in a Fox News clip dated Aug. 19, 2026 and reposted on X: "We'll have more Republican members than Nancy Mace has tattoos. And that's just today."

FITSNews reported, citing unnamed sources, that President Trump said he heard she had several "freaky tattoos." The report is anonymous-sourced, and neither Trump nor Mace has confirmed it. Asked about the tattoos and the president on NewsNation, Aug. 30, 2026, Mace said: "Well, I've always supported the president's policies. He's not always supported mine, and that's his decision, and we agree and disagree. That is the beauty of debate. That's the beauty of democracy. That's the beauty of the First Amendment and free speech."

Piers Morgan put the question to her on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Sept. 1, 2026: "A lot of people very concerned about you and your mental state because of the tattoo images you put out. A cry for help, a strident move for womanhood, a slip down into rock chick superstardom. Where were you going with this, Nancy?" Mace, same program: "No, it's just I happen to be trolling people that had, I guess, a very visceral reaction to seeing a woman with tattoos."

Chapter 4: The Dalloway line

One tattoo started an argument of its own. It is the first line of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway: "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

Derek Guy (@dieworkwear), replying to Mace on X, Aug. 17, 2026: "Dalloway, as you know, is buying flowers for her dinner party. But it's at the dinner party where she wrestles with her homosexual memories of, and desires for, her friend Sally." His post goes on to say that Mace has made disparaging remarks about gay people; that is his opinion, attributed to him.

Daniel D'Addario (@DPD_) on X, Aug. 17, 2026: "One of Nancy Mace's tattoos being 'Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself'... does anyone have a direct line to Michael Cunningham?" Cunningham wrote The Hours. GO Magazine (Rachel Kiley, Aug. 19, 2026) and Queerty (Henry Giardina, Aug. 18, 2026) both called it her "lesbian tattoo." Neither reports a reply from Mace about why she chose the line.

Chapter 5: Why, in her own words

On the Capitol steps, TMZ, Sept. 1, 2026: "It's definitely related to the trauma I've been through the last three years. And I'd rather sit and feel a needle than go talk to a therapist. Like, there's something to be said for sitting there and feeling." And: "For a lot of women who've been through trauma, it's something that they use as part of their healing process, and that's definitely been true for me."

To Piers Morgan, Sept. 1, 2026: "I've not hidden behind the trauma that I've been through over the last couple of years. And one of the ways that I have dealt with that trauma, like a lot of other women, is by artwork, is by the tattooing. It's something that got me through some tough times." And: "I'm getting ready to leave Congress so I can go sleeveless if I want. I cover up when I'm in my government job, but it's been a very liberating experience for me, getting them and showing them off, and there'll be more."

To NewsNation, Aug. 30, 2026: "That's something that's been sort of a personal journey for me. And I love the ink that I have. I've had a lot of friends ask me who did the artwork so they can go get inked as well. It's not for everybody. I don't recommend it necessarily for everyone, but you can't just get one."

The full inventory

Maceopedia counts fifteen designs on the public record. Mace has never published a list; she says only that she has far more than nine.

  1. The Dalloway line. Left arm. The opening line of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, in fine script.

    The Mrs. Dalloway script tattoo

    Image as cataloged on Maceopedia, Aug. 2026.

  2. The saint. Left arm. A robed saint or Virgin Mary with a gold halo, hands clasped.

    A robed saint with a gold halo

    Photo posted by Nancy Mace on X, Aug. 17, 2026.

  3. Cross or arch. Left upper arm. An angular cross or arch wrapped in roses. No outlet has described it, and its subject is not confirmed.

    An angular cross or arch wrapped in roses

    Photo posted by Nancy Mace on X, Aug. 17, 2026.

  4. Black and grey roses. Left forearm. A pair of black and grey roses.

    A pair of black and grey roses on the forearm

    Image as cataloged on Maceopedia, Aug. 2026.

  5. Justice. Left forearm. The word justice, in vertical block letters.

    The word JUSTICE in vertical block letters

    Image as cataloged on Maceopedia, Aug. 2026.

  6. A lion. As Mediaite described it, "what appears to be a lion." Part of its face shows beside the lettering in the image above.

  7. The hawk. Right shoulder. A large bird. A follower guessed an eagle. Mace says it is a hawk.

    A color hawk on the shoulder

    Image as cataloged on Maceopedia, Aug. 2026.

  8. Roses in color. Right arm. Roses in color, red with green leaves.

    Color roses on the right arm

    Image as cataloged on Maceopedia, Aug. 2026.

  9. A sun. Right arm. A sun with rays.

    A sun with rays

    Image as cataloged on Maceopedia, Aug. 2026.

  10. A swallow. A teal and orange swallow. Mace showed it to TMZ herself: "Okay, see, it's my swallow."

    A swallow over clouds

    Frame from TMZ, Sept. 1, 2026.

  11. A heart that reads "mama." A red heart with a banner that reads mama. Mace to TMZ: "I got mama."

    A red heart with a banner reading MAMA

    Frame from TMZ, Sept. 1, 2026.

  12. Clouds. The clouds around the swallow and the heart, visible in the same TMZ shot.

    Clouds around the swallow and the heart

    Frame from TMZ, Sept. 1, 2026.

  13. Unidentified. Left shoulder. Dark line work that has never been identified.

    Dark line work on the left shoulder, unidentified

    Image as cataloged on Maceopedia, Aug. 2026. The image is low quality.

  14. Her children's names. Ribcage. Two lines of script that name her two children. The names and dates are not reproduced here because one of the children is a minor. As published on Maceopedia, Sept. 29, 2026. See the dispatch.

  15. The ribcage rose. Ribcage. A large rose in color. As published on Maceopedia, Sept. 29, 2026.

Where this leaves the count

In February, Politico's writer reported nine. On August 30 Mace told NewsNation she "might have more than nine as what's been publicly reported." On September 1 she told TMZ she has "far more than nine" and is "not done yet." Fifteen designs are on the public record. No full list from Mace is.

Sources and related coverage

Video and interviews in the documentary:

Reporting:

Posts on X:

On Maceopedia: