The Third Reich is getting a second chance with Jesse James.
James is reportedly dating Kat Von D, the star of TLC's tattoo parlor reality show "LA Ink." It's the second time James has been romantically linked to a woman who was involved in a Nazi photo scandal.
Stories tying James to Von D surfaced after the pair were seen Saturday dining together in Las Vegas. Von D confirmed the rumors in a radio appearance Thursday morning.
"I think that I'm his type on a different level than people would assume," Von D said.
And what type is that exactly? Past evidence indicates that James might have a predilection for women with Nazi tendencies.
Von D was embroiled in a Nazi photo controversy back in February 2008 after TMZ published pictures of an swastika-covered anti-semitic message she allegedly gave to one of her co-stars.
Von D came to "LA Ink" from another TLC tattoo series, "Miami Ink." She left "Miami Ink" after fighting with Ami James, who owned the 305 Ink tattoo shop where the show was filmed. According to TMZ, on her way out of "Miami Ink" in 2007 Von D presented James, who is Jewish, with a signed photo inscribed with the note, "Burn in Hell Jewbag." Along with the note, Von D allegedly drew a burning Star of David and a Nazi swastika.
TMZ published a photo of the note and claimed Ami James confirmed that Von D gave him the picture. At the time, Von D issued a statement through a publicist that said the picture was "a forgery."
Jesse James married actress Sandra Bullock in 2005, but the couple divorced in April after a tattoo model named Michelle "Bombshell" McGee publicly claimed that she and James had a nearly yearlong affair. Soon after the scandal went public, TMZ published a series of photos of McGee posing in a bikini along with a dagger, swastika armband and Nazi SS hat. US Weekly subsequently published photos of James wearing a similar Nazi hat while giving the Sieg Heil salute.
At the time the photos of James and McGee were posted, James' friends told the media that he isn't a Nazi sympathizer and meant the pictures as a joke. As he and Von D continue being linked to these incidents, their excuses may become harder and harder to believe.
As of this writing, representatives for both Von D and James have not responded to requests to comment.
