Sunday 17 March 2013

David Beckham channels Caligula

I'm way behind the curve when it comes to celebrity culture, but I'm filing this factoid under "strange things." Apparently, among the impressive portfolio of body art adorning footballer-turned global brand, David Beckham, there's a tat of a guardian angel above the  phrase 'let them hate as long as they fear. '

As any fule kno, this phrase became notorious as a favourite saying of the insane and famously depraved emperor Caligula, at least according to Suetonius.

I've no idea what - if anything - Becks was thinking when he had this one done, but there's a publishing opportunity going begging there. Just find a snappier title than "The Iconography of Celebrity Tattoos" and whack it out as a coffee-table book in time for Christmas. After all, nobody ever lost money by exhaustively dissecting the lifestyle choices of the rich and famous for the benefit of sleb fans everywhere.

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