‘Ink Master’ Season 14: Who Are the New Judges and Does Dave Navarro Return?
Ink Master Season 14 has returned on streaming giant Paramount+ with a new host and set of judges. However, the cast is made up of familiar faces.
Who are the new judges and host on ‘Ink Master?’
Since its inception in 2012, tattoo artists Chris Núñez and Oliver Peck have served as the main judges of Ink Master, with musician Dave Navarro as the host.
The tattooing-based reality show has become very successful, producing several spin-offs, including Ink Master: Redemption, Angels, and Grudge Match. However, the show was canceled in 2020 as Paramount wanted to shift its focus to different types of programming.
Streaming giant Paramount+ picked up the series for season 14 with a new host and set of judges. Ink Master: Angels host and season 8 champ Ryan Ashley, Japanese specialist and Miami Ink star Ami James, and Nikko Hurtado, a color theory master, are the new judges, with Good Charlotte lead vocalist and tattoo enthusiast Joel Madden stepping in as host.
Navarro virtually appears on the show as the Master of Chaos, who delivers twists to the competitors. The revived reality series features the highest cash prize in franchise history as the artists will receive $250,000 instead of $100,000. However, the staple feature in Inked Magazine doesn’t appear to be part of the winning package anymore.
Why did ‘Ink Master’ get canceled?
In January 2020, a few weeks before Ink Master Season 13 premiered, TMZ released several photos of Peck dressed in blackface for Halloween costumes.
One picture depicted the tattoo artist wearing black makeup while posing as a basketball player. Another showed him posing for the camera wearing a superhero costume with the letter “N” on it.
More pictures featured him applying makeup over his body. It’s unclear when the photos were taken, but it’s reported they were pulled from his old MySpace account. Shortly after the pictures went viral, Peck apologized for his “completely inappropriate, insensitive, and immature behavior” in an Instagram post.
He then announced his departure from Ink Master. A few months after season 13 aired, Paramount canceled the reality show due to its shift in focus. It’s unclear why Núñez didn’t return as a judge and why Navarro was replaced as the host, even though he periodically virtually appears in the episodes.
‘Ink Master’ Season 14 cast features returning artists
Ink Master Season 14 features 10 returning artists who have never won the series. Season 8’s Gian Karle came close, losing to new judge Ashley.
The only other runner-up is traditional specialist Katie McGowan, who nearly won her second time competing in season 9. They’ve already established an evident rivalry as Gian admittedly considers her his biggest competition.
Last season’s Team West members Bob Jones, Angel Rose, and Hiram Casas have returned for another shot at the title as a winner wasn’t announced due to COVID-19. However, Bob and Angel finished as finalists.
Season 12’s Holli Marie, remembered for her “no tears in tattooing” quote, Pon DeMan, who wants to prove he isn’t a “one-trick pony,” and Creepy Jason also returned alongside season 11’s Chris Shockley, who still has bad memories of his former team’s mistreatment and Deanna James from season 10. Ink Master airs Wednesdays on Paramount+.
