Famous rapper Kid Cudi, recently tweeted a link to his Tumblr page exposing a controversial photo of his realistic slit wrists tattoos. 

In an interview with Red Bull, the rapper revealed the meaning behind his new tattoos. Cudi believes that the tattoos represent the death of his old self and rebirth into the type of artist he truly wants to be.

This stunt has also offended many people who have dealt with the issue of self-mutilation, also known as self-injury or cutting.

This issue is much larger than most people realize, but the numbers are hard to track due to lack of knowledge on the issue and secrecy from the cutters themselves. 

Some cut because they feel that the physical pain is much easier to cope with than the emotional pain that they deal with daily. Some cutters become addicted to the pain.  

Without appropriate treatment, this addiction can spiral out of control and potentially lead to suicide. Having had a friend who was addicted to cutting and who ultimately committed suicide, I know just how sensitive and difficult this issue can be. 

Cudi’s reasoning behind his slit wrists tattoos is insensitive and ignorant. It is ignorant to the millions of people that deal with this same issue everyday. 

There are many alternatives to changing ones musical persona that do not involve making a mockery of a very serious issue: going by a new name, adopting a new look or evolving into a different style of music. 

Perhaps the rapper needed the attention to promote his new band and sound, but this media ploy was in very bad taste. Cudi should have taken into consideration the real blood that many cutters have shed and how serious of an issue cutting is before getting his now infamous slit wrist tattoos.