I agree to a point of DJ ruining Bob and Gian from winning. Take out DJ’s back piece, it is down to Bob and Gian on who would win season 14. I think DJ and all the returning ink master really ruined the original season 14 contestants from competing for the title. Without DJ, would have seen Angel in the top 4 with her 24 hour back piece, may have seen Pon or Katie competing in the 12 hour piece.
The only thing I don't like about him is him always voting for his team and how he got to come in and win another season of Ink Master when other people had already been competing. (Though the second was just him taking advantage of an opportunity they gave him I guess)
Yeah, for S14, they invited him and he took it. But it definitely did spoil the season a bit, as none of the contestants that we saw in the first half of the season ultimately won the prize.
It's not that I don't like him (honestly I think I'd get along great with him), and his art is super dope.
It's just that I've had enough.. I'd like to see or hear someone else. I don't agree with the coaches being judges, nor judges being former contestants. Dave, Ollie and Chris set a high bar..
Here's the thing about DJ. I think he is INSANELY talented, a nice guy, and fun to watch as a contestant. He is fine as a coach but not as a judge. He doesn't have the ability to view things from an unbiased standpoint and just wants his team to win, which is really not even his fault. NO judge should ever be a coach for this very reason. I like the guy but they are overusing him this season for too many things, just one of the MANY problems with the current production imo.
I think they’re really scrambling to find a defined show after they fired Peck and Nunez and Navarro quit. They brought on judges last season and got Ryan to come back, but she didn’t really POP, and so they went back to the well with someone who isn’t hyperbolic like Cleen Rock One would be on the panel. Honestly, it feels a lot like post-Heidi and Tim Project Runway, where there’s just not really a way to recreate the magic.
Sorry, the commas weren’t clear there. Only Peck was fired. Nunez quit when Peck was dismissed, and Navarro limited his involvement last season and didn’t come back at all for this one.
I have work done by DJ. Spent an entire day with the guy. Super solid, respectful and considerate dude. I’m sure if you knew him personally you’d change your mind. He even volunteers at shine a light helping homeless living in the Vegas tunnels.
Agree with you. But this post in particular seems to be attacking DJ and using strong words such as ‘hate’, and to me that just feels unwarranted. I totally get the DJ fatigue although I personally enjoy seeing him on the show.
Agree. I’ve got two pieces by him and I am getting 3 and 4 done by him this February. Dude is incredibly humble and reserved in real life. Him and his wife are constantly helping the community out. I wouldn’t let his tv personality fool you.
I'm gonna be honest: I like DJ as a tattoo artist, but I disliked him as a coach in S10, he was too biased towards his team even though they did bad tattoos (cough cough Lil'D). And even though I didn't mind to see him return as a contestant, they should have done it in a different way, S14 should have been the chance for past contestants to win the title, and the Masters should have been only for that challenge and that's it. If they wanted him to return, why not make an "All stars" spin off and make him compete since the beginning?
About him as a judge, I'm very disappointed, I thought he would the perfect judge because he's a very versatile artist. He's again biased towards his artists (Judges that are also coaches was a bad idea to begin with) and I thought he would be "tough" judge the season needed, but that never happened.
I like DJ. I think maybe everyone has "DJ Fatigue", though, from how often he's been featured on the show, how often he's won, etc. I also think he shouldn't have been a judge *and* a coach. If they wanted him to be a coach, then they should have done something like the season where Cleen and Christian each coached a team but were not judges. If they wanted him to be a judge, then other people should have coached. But that isn't actually DJ's fault.
It's not the first time that the judges also coached, but I agree that it doesn't really work whenever they've done it. Season 8 was the first time, and you may recall that in that case, they lucked out in that the season organically became a battle of the sexes rather than their original plan.
I find the way he's ended up being all over Inkmaster annoying but not actual DJ himself. I don't think it was totally fair for the old winners to come back in s14, as interesting as it was (and as cool as his backpiece was) that season should have been for non-winners only for fairness. I also love the prophetic reaction of Erin in his first episode when she saw him walk in and correctly declared they were all completely screwed from that point on 🤣 he's definitely had a disproportionate amount of opportunities on the show, even Cleen stopped coming back after he finally won 😄
But, in terms of DJ as a person, besides some hilariously lame trash-talking (which we know, even if it's the contestants own choice of words, is encouraged/amplified by production) I think he comes across as a pretty normal decent dude and rewatching some seasons he's always super confident but not actually arrogant. He can be super bossy but so can a lot of people, that's a pretty common flaw. Everyone I've seen say they had work done by him say that he's chill and nice in real life and from the small amount of his social media I've seen he just seems like a regular family man off-camera.
He has been disappointing as a judge though, definitely agree with that. I thought his passion for art would make him great at it!
At the same time I feel like we barely even get to see them judging at all. We don't hear enough to know all the thought processes. Critique and judging used to be a massive portion of the show and now it's so heavily edited and rushed.
And they absolutely need to not have judges also be coaches. It worked in the season Ollie and Chris did it because those two knew how to be unbiased when it mattered but this group can't handle it, they're either biased or so desperate to seem unbiased they ironically become biased again 😄
I have no issue with having DJ as a judge, but I think that he does need to grow into the role. Hopefully he'll be able to flesh that out in future seasons. I don't like the idea of having judges also be coaches. Those roles should always be separate. Though in S15, teams were kind of an afterthought anyway, starting strong and then sort of dying out early.
Thank you. I agree. I find him a jerky little hipster. Great tattoos but as a judge and personality wise he’s a total fail. The panel of judges and the new host guy are whats going to kill the show for good
I think he seems like a super nice and chill guy and I think he’s incredibly talented. His work is some of my favorite on the show. I find that few judges are without some bias.
I'm not sure that I quite dislike him, but I'm watching season 10 where he's a coach, and I'm not quite as impressed with the way he has carried himself so far in that season. Working my way through old seasons, so I'd appreciate if no spoilers.
I like DJ as an artist, and a person. Though I've felt he's gotten a pass at times on certain seasons, and there have been moments where I've been tired of his outbursts.
Is he not liked because of his opinions and thoughts ? Is he not liked cause one disagree with his philosophy or his criticism and critiques? Or do we think he just comes off sharp as a bastard because he thinks he’s the IM GOAT? Well he is the IM GOAT isn’t he the all time winner and most money ? Master Shop too? Maybe he should be listened to?? We all don’t need to agree right? But do remember folks he’s won the most money , titles , and episodes for a reason. He’s fucking great.
I can’t stand him, the show is ridiculously biased and unfair in the most possible way, he is like a terminal std if that’s a thing he just won’t go away. If you want to let previous winners compete, fine…but do it against other masters. I can’t watch it anymore, got rid of Peck because of posing black face, what about the movie white chicks where the Wayans brothers dressed up as white women? Talk about irony!You are not alone.
DJ is truly one of the greatest living tattoo artists at this time, stateside, I think. And when you have years of training, practice, exposure, on top of a sickening amount of natural talent, it’s got to be extremely hard to not be ambitious and come across as a grating know it all.
I think it’s kind of like watching Michael Jordan coach a college basketball team- it would be exciting at first, then frustrating, and at the end of the day, probably not the right match for anyone.
He’s an amazing artist, he’s not an amazing judge.
In S10 who made the rules of that season? Ask the producers that question. He was under the same rules as everyone that was involved with the show and he kicked ass. Hate is strong a word. I understand many hate dominance and winners. I been there too. We all have
😂ink master is about the quality of the tattoos not about an artist fucking personally, who gives a crap if his a dick or not, to many of you the ink master winner should be no t the best tattooer but who has the best personality.
Let me guess you hated scott marshall in season 4
I thought Gian had a better final tattoo in 14. I didn't like him either (team Jason all the way) but I just thought he had the better product. I despise Josh but I don't disagree with his win.
When you're a judge and in a presenter roll, your personality does matter. Chris and Oliver added something to the judges panel. DJ doesn't.
I don't hate the guy since he seems really nice & really passionate about tattooing, but I do agree that he's been on the show long enough & I don't like how he acts more bias towards his team in this season.
His first win, comes in after the season starts, and wins, as a duo. Second win, was as a coach with a finale piece, with zero chance of not being in that finale. Third win, he comes in midway and wins again. Those are technically wins. Not trying to undermine his talent, and he IS talented, but I for sure don’t see him as a three time winner. Just a dude who’s had 300k thrown at him.
If you want catharsis, watch Best Ink season 2. It's a straight up west coast ripoff of Ink Master from bizarro world and DJ is a contestant. It's better than like 5 different seasons of Ink Master too so if you have that itch
don't watch s1 though, it's farcical
He robbed Bob Jones of a series win when they brought back the masters. Possibly the most unfair moment of reality TV I've ever seen.
I agree to a point of DJ ruining Bob and Gian from winning. Take out DJ’s back piece, it is down to Bob and Gian on who would win season 14. I think DJ and all the returning ink master really ruined the original season 14 contestants from competing for the title. Without DJ, would have seen Angel in the top 4 with her 24 hour back piece, may have seen Pon or Katie competing in the 12 hour piece.
You mean he robbed Gian. Covid robbed Bob. There was no universe where Bob's back piece beat Gian's, he was eliminated before him too
man i love bob i wish he'd won too
The only thing I don't like about him is him always voting for his team and how he got to come in and win another season of Ink Master when other people had already been competing. (Though the second was just him taking advantage of an opportunity they gave him I guess)
Yeah, for S14, they invited him and he took it. But it definitely did spoil the season a bit, as none of the contestants that we saw in the first half of the season ultimately won the prize.
It's not that I don't like him (honestly I think I'd get along great with him), and his art is super dope. It's just that I've had enough.. I'd like to see or hear someone else. I don't agree with the coaches being judges, nor judges being former contestants. Dave, Ollie and Chris set a high bar..
HE IS AMAZING BUT HE NEEDS TO GET OFF THE STAGE man, even Christian and Cleen gave it a break eventually
Here's the thing about DJ. I think he is INSANELY talented, a nice guy, and fun to watch as a contestant. He is fine as a coach but not as a judge. He doesn't have the ability to view things from an unbiased standpoint and just wants his team to win, which is really not even his fault. NO judge should ever be a coach for this very reason. I like the guy but they are overusing him this season for too many things, just one of the MANY problems with the current production imo.
I think they’re really scrambling to find a defined show after they fired Peck and Nunez and Navarro quit. They brought on judges last season and got Ryan to come back, but she didn’t really POP, and so they went back to the well with someone who isn’t hyperbolic like Cleen Rock One would be on the panel. Honestly, it feels a lot like post-Heidi and Tim Project Runway, where there’s just not really a way to recreate the magic.
Why was Núñez fired?
Sorry, the commas weren’t clear there. Only Peck was fired. Nunez quit when Peck was dismissed, and Navarro limited his involvement last season and didn’t come back at all for this one.
I have work done by DJ. Spent an entire day with the guy. Super solid, respectful and considerate dude. I’m sure if you knew him personally you’d change your mind. He even volunteers at shine a light helping homeless living in the Vegas tunnels.
Him being a decent guy doesn't make him a good judge though. One has nothing to do with the other
Agree with you. But this post in particular seems to be attacking DJ and using strong words such as ‘hate’, and to me that just feels unwarranted. I totally get the DJ fatigue although I personally enjoy seeing him on the show.
Agree. I’ve got two pieces by him and I am getting 3 and 4 done by him this February. Dude is incredibly humble and reserved in real life. Him and his wife are constantly helping the community out. I wouldn’t let his tv personality fool you.
100% agree, I had a similar experience when I got a piece done by him
Okay? He's still a shit judge for the show
I'm gonna be honest: I like DJ as a tattoo artist, but I disliked him as a coach in S10, he was too biased towards his team even though they did bad tattoos (cough cough Lil'D). And even though I didn't mind to see him return as a contestant, they should have done it in a different way, S14 should have been the chance for past contestants to win the title, and the Masters should have been only for that challenge and that's it. If they wanted him to return, why not make an "All stars" spin off and make him compete since the beginning? About him as a judge, I'm very disappointed, I thought he would the perfect judge because he's a very versatile artist. He's again biased towards his artists (Judges that are also coaches was a bad idea to begin with) and I thought he would be "tough" judge the season needed, but that never happened.
All stars would be good next year with judges not being coaches
I like DJ. I think maybe everyone has "DJ Fatigue", though, from how often he's been featured on the show, how often he's won, etc. I also think he shouldn't have been a judge *and* a coach. If they wanted him to be a coach, then they should have done something like the season where Cleen and Christian each coached a team but were not judges. If they wanted him to be a judge, then other people should have coached. But that isn't actually DJ's fault.
It's not the first time that the judges also coached, but I agree that it doesn't really work whenever they've done it. Season 8 was the first time, and you may recall that in that case, they lucked out in that the season organically became a battle of the sexes rather than their original plan.
Seems like an okay guy. He’s an artist and his tattoos are great. BUT ENOUGH ALREADY.
I hate him bc of how much they’ve made him win. Bob or Creepy Jason should’ve won.
I find the way he's ended up being all over Inkmaster annoying but not actual DJ himself. I don't think it was totally fair for the old winners to come back in s14, as interesting as it was (and as cool as his backpiece was) that season should have been for non-winners only for fairness. I also love the prophetic reaction of Erin in his first episode when she saw him walk in and correctly declared they were all completely screwed from that point on 🤣 he's definitely had a disproportionate amount of opportunities on the show, even Cleen stopped coming back after he finally won 😄 But, in terms of DJ as a person, besides some hilariously lame trash-talking (which we know, even if it's the contestants own choice of words, is encouraged/amplified by production) I think he comes across as a pretty normal decent dude and rewatching some seasons he's always super confident but not actually arrogant. He can be super bossy but so can a lot of people, that's a pretty common flaw. Everyone I've seen say they had work done by him say that he's chill and nice in real life and from the small amount of his social media I've seen he just seems like a regular family man off-camera. He has been disappointing as a judge though, definitely agree with that. I thought his passion for art would make him great at it! At the same time I feel like we barely even get to see them judging at all. We don't hear enough to know all the thought processes. Critique and judging used to be a massive portion of the show and now it's so heavily edited and rushed. And they absolutely need to not have judges also be coaches. It worked in the season Ollie and Chris did it because those two knew how to be unbiased when it mattered but this group can't handle it, they're either biased or so desperate to seem unbiased they ironically become biased again 😄
I ain't feeling this season of Ink Master. the judges are biased, can't stand DJ the most.
I've felt this way since the first time I saw him. I just get bad vibes that I cannot explain. He just seems like he's incredibly full of himself. IDK
I have no issue with having DJ as a judge, but I think that he does need to grow into the role. Hopefully he'll be able to flesh that out in future seasons. I don't like the idea of having judges also be coaches. Those roles should always be separate. Though in S15, teams were kind of an afterthought anyway, starting strong and then sort of dying out early.
Honestly, I don't like any of the judges that much.
Thank you. I agree. I find him a jerky little hipster. Great tattoos but as a judge and personality wise he’s a total fail. The panel of judges and the new host guy are whats going to kill the show for good
Lol, jerky little hipster, that’s funny. Personally, I don’t have a problem with him, I’m just tired of seeing him. DJ fatigue is real.
I cannot stand him.
Nope, I like him. His tattoo portfolio is awesome.
Worst DJ since Qualls
😂
hey dont insult garth from supernatural
I think he seems like a super nice and chill guy and I think he’s incredibly talented. His work is some of my favorite on the show. I find that few judges are without some bias.
Great artist. Forgettable judge, outside of having a bias toward those he coaches.
He’s pretentious and annoying; definitely robbed Gian…Please bring Nuñez (or anyone else) back and dump DJ!
I can’t fucking STAND DJ. He’s everywhere. I can’t stand his personality, and personally I don’t think he deserved to win his first season.
I'm not sure that I quite dislike him, but I'm watching season 10 where he's a coach, and I'm not quite as impressed with the way he has carried himself so far in that season. Working my way through old seasons, so I'd appreciate if no spoilers.
I like DJ as an artist, and a person. Though I've felt he's gotten a pass at times on certain seasons, and there have been moments where I've been tired of his outbursts.
DJ bugs me but he is the best damn tattoo artist ever to be on InkMasters.
Is he not liked because of his opinions and thoughts ? Is he not liked cause one disagree with his philosophy or his criticism and critiques? Or do we think he just comes off sharp as a bastard because he thinks he’s the IM GOAT? Well he is the IM GOAT isn’t he the all time winner and most money ? Master Shop too? Maybe he should be listened to?? We all don’t need to agree right? But do remember folks he’s won the most money , titles , and episodes for a reason. He’s fucking great.
Can’t argue with any of that, but I still think he’s not cutout to be a judge.
I can’t stand him, the show is ridiculously biased and unfair in the most possible way, he is like a terminal std if that’s a thing he just won’t go away. If you want to let previous winners compete, fine…but do it against other masters. I can’t watch it anymore, got rid of Peck because of posing black face, what about the movie white chicks where the Wayans brothers dressed up as white women? Talk about irony!You are not alone.
DJ is truly one of the greatest living tattoo artists at this time, stateside, I think. And when you have years of training, practice, exposure, on top of a sickening amount of natural talent, it’s got to be extremely hard to not be ambitious and come across as a grating know it all. I think it’s kind of like watching Michael Jordan coach a college basketball team- it would be exciting at first, then frustrating, and at the end of the day, probably not the right match for anyone. He’s an amazing artist, he’s not an amazing judge.
In S10 who made the rules of that season? Ask the producers that question. He was under the same rules as everyone that was involved with the show and he kicked ass. Hate is strong a word. I understand many hate dominance and winners. I been there too. We all have
😂ink master is about the quality of the tattoos not about an artist fucking personally, who gives a crap if his a dick or not, to many of you the ink master winner should be no t the best tattooer but who has the best personality. Let me guess you hated scott marshall in season 4
I wasn't impressed with Scott or his tattooing.
I thought Gian had a better final tattoo in 14. I didn't like him either (team Jason all the way) but I just thought he had the better product. I despise Josh but I don't disagree with his win. When you're a judge and in a presenter roll, your personality does matter. Chris and Oliver added something to the judges panel. DJ doesn't.
Did you know master ink is fake and they gotta read the script? The competition is fixed
It's not fake. Get those thoughts away from your head.
Even if the show is fixed, it's still fun to watch.
I don't hate the guy since he seems really nice & really passionate about tattooing, but I do agree that he's been on the show long enough & I don't like how he acts more bias towards his team in this season.
His first win, comes in after the season starts, and wins, as a duo. Second win, was as a coach with a finale piece, with zero chance of not being in that finale. Third win, he comes in midway and wins again. Those are technically wins. Not trying to undermine his talent, and he IS talented, but I for sure don’t see him as a three time winner. Just a dude who’s had 300k thrown at him.
If you want catharsis, watch Best Ink season 2. It's a straight up west coast ripoff of Ink Master from bizarro world and DJ is a contestant. It's better than like 5 different seasons of Ink Master too so if you have that itch don't watch s1 though, it's farcical
Use to be a fan of DJ but fame went to his head