Is this tattoo offensive?
LeAnn Rimes got a new tattoo recently of the phrase “god’s work” tattooed in delicate, lowercase script on her forearm.
Her tattoo artist, Daniel Winter, shared a photo of the design on Instagram.
The country star, 36, also shared a photo of the moment she got the tattoo.
“Thank you … for my beautiful new ink!” she wrote, shouting out to Winter (who, as it happens, also created Lady Gaga's latest tattoo).
Many fans loved the design, but others criticized it — not for its religious message, but because she didn’t capitalize the "G" in "god."
“It’s God. Not god. FYI,” one person commented on her Instagram post.
“God is spelled with a capital G always. Maybe you should seek Him and He will let you know it is God,” another person posted, while another commenter added, “My God has a capital G.”
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ‘God’ is capitalized when it’s referring specifically to a ‘supreme’ being or creator. It’s not capitalized when referring to a type of god, like ‘a Greek god.’
Still, not everyone minded the lowercase "G" in Rimes’ tattoo, and many fans came to the country singer’s defense.
“It's her tat, and none of my freaking business how she chooses to spell it or capitalize it or not. GET A LIFE people,” one fan wrote in the comments.
“I’m sure LeAnn knows the difference between God & god and she wrote it exactly how she wanted to, in how it's meaningful to her,” another person wrote.
Another supporter chimed in, “God or god — he knows your heart! Have a fabulous day.”
Plus, this isn’t Rimes’ first tattoo.
She has another delicately scripted message on her foot that reads, “The only one that matters” — a sweet tribute to her husband of eight years, Eddie Cibrian.
Rimes hasn’t commented publicly on the controversy sparked by her latest ink. We’ve reached out to the country star for comment and will update this post if we hear back.