Elisabetta Canalis Reacts To Having Her Tattoos Edited From ‘Dancing’ Cast Shot: ‘It Was A Surprise For Me Too’

Elisabetta Canalis has said her recent “Dancing with the Stars” tattoo photo snafu came as surprise to her as well.

In recent days, official photos surfaced on ABC’s press site, picturing the Italian television presenter and model in her ballroom costume. But, while she was bearing plenty of skin, none of that skin featured her trademark body art.

So what happened?

“You should ask them, because I didn’t [sic] know,” the Italian, who is taking English lessons, told Access Hollywood on Wednesday, referring to ABC. “It was a surprise for me too.”

“I knew something was weird when I saw these pictures,” her partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, the brother of fellow pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, added.

“Maybe they didn’t like them,” she added of her tattoos.

A source close to the situation told Access Hollywood that the photos were uploaded by mistake and the matter has since been corrected.

Revised cast shots, featuring Elisabetta and Val – ones with her tattoos on display, were uploaded to ABC’s media site (see new cast shot above, right).

While they were airbrushed out of the photos that hit ABC’s media site originally (see above photo, left), Elisabetta’s ink is there for good.

“I have them,” she said. “I can’t get rid of them so easily, so I have to keep them.”

And partner Val thinks his partner’s body art is attractive.

“I enjoy them. I think that phase of tattoos being taboo in our society is over,” he said. “I think it’s more self-expression and they all have meaning to her.”