Roman Kemp’s moving tattoo tribute for late pal despite ‘rinsing’ him for error
Roman Kemp had the same tattoo as his late friend, despite “rinsing” his pal for it.
Before revealing his departure last year, the broadcaster previously hosted the Capital FM Breakfast Show for seven years. He immediately forged a relationship with those he had worked with, including producer Joe Lyons, affectionately known as Producer Joe, while he was a part of the program.
Tragically, Joe committed suicide in August of this year while Roman and his co-stars were battling the agonizing news. After Joe failed to arrive at work, Roman and his colleagues made the decision to continue working during the live broadcast.
Joe had a swallow tattoo on his shin before his sad demise at the age of 31. Roman admits that he “rinsed” because it resembled a pigeon. Despite previously calling it “awful,” Roman later made the decision to have the same tattoo done by the same artist and in the same studio.
He revealed in a new interview that he questioned Joe’s choice to have the bird tattooed on his leg and that he had opened up about the moving gesture. “I remember the day he got the tattoo, I was like, ‘ Why have you got that? ‘” he told The Observer Magazine. The 31-year-old went on to add: “I just kept rinsing him: ‘ They’ve done it wrong, t looks like a pigeon. ‘
Then, after he passed away, I received it by the same artist in the exact same position. I just wanted something to make me smile and not serve some divine purpose or whatever. And, to me, it’ll never be a swallow, it will always be a pigeon. Roman revealed on Instagram that he had the swallow inked in the exact same position as Joe after getting the tattoo done.
As he shared a side-by-side comparison snap, he said to his fans in 2020: “Joe had this tattoo and I always used to say it was awful and looked like a pigeon, so I got it in the same spot.” Since Joe’s death, Roman has been a huge advocate for men’s mental health, having previously opened up about his own struggles.
The presenter ignited a fresh conversation after his documentary, Our Silent Emergency, during which he spoke of his own experience with depression and panic attacks, as well as being prescribed the anti-depressant, sertraline. A sizable number of young people contacted the Samaritans about their own mental health during the documentary.
He followed this with another documentary in 2023, Roman Kemp: The Fight for Young Lives, as he explored ways to prevent suicide. Roman, who spoke to the Mirror last year, revealed that he had been considering leaving Capital after discovering that his best friend had passed away.
In a raw interview, he told us:” It’s to do what happened for me. That sounds wild but I mean it, it’s not normal, imagine a tragedy happened in your house you’re going to want to move, “he commented, adding:” The bosses at Capital know this and I said it, it’s difficult, I went through such a horrible moment in that room in that studio, four years on and I’ve been living that same day over and over again, without the awful event. “
If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
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Source: Mirror
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