Kanye West Moved to Tears by Fan’s “Runaway Tattoo”

Kanye West Moved to Tears by Fan’s “Runaway Tattoo”

Say Kanye West doesn’t show any emotion all you want, but the rapper was actually moved to tears at one of his Saint Pablo shows last week, when he spotted, of all things, a concertgoer’s ballerina tattoo in the crowd.

According to George Condo, the American painter who collaborated with West on visuals for his fifth studio album, 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the rapper has a soft spot for ballerinas, and when Condo’s wife showed West a photo of French dancer Sylvia Guillem, he said, “Hey man, I’d love to have a great ballerina painting.” This exchange took place while West and Condo were listening to the rapper’s track “Runaway” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, “And somehow [West] grabbed onto that idea of the ballerina” for one of his five album covers, Condo explained.

Fast forward six years to September 2016, and Kanye West is performing onstage in Miami on his Saint Pablo tour, when he sees a fan in the crowd with a tattoo of Condo’s “Runaway” ballerina painting. The sight moved West to tears, and he began serenading 22-year-old Krystal Aguirre, whom he nicknamed “The Girl with the Runaway Tattoo.” Videos began to surface online of West’s emotional performance and MTV News sat down with Aguirre, to talk to her about her “Runaway” ballerina tattoo, her love of Kanye West and George Condo, and the energy in the room the night of the Miami show.

When asked about her ballerina tattoo, Aguirre said, “I got it in April of 2015. I had saved sketches of it for years. I knew I wanted it tattooed. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is my favorite [West] album. And I’ve always loved Condo’s work – it’s creative, different and crazy. So it was a perfect combination, from two artists.” According to Aguirre, when West caught a glimpse of her “Runaway” tattoo, he stopped singing and started speaking to her and the crowd, “talking about inspiration, and he said I brought tears to his eyes.” In addition to her George Condo ballerina tattoo, Aguirre was also wearing a “Rest in Peace Donda” shirt, in tribute to West’s late mother, which likely had an effect on the rapper as well.

Kanye West’s Saint Pablo tour has garnered quite a bit of praise, due in large part to the fan experience it creates – what with the floating stage and the feeling that each show is just one giant dance party – and if you ask Krystal Aguirre, we’d bet good money she would agree.

See more tattoo designs (all better than the above) here: