The New Jersey woman once dubbed “Tan Mom” is back with a new tale of tanning-related trouble, this time claiming federal immigration agents nearly hauled her away after mistaking her extreme bronze for a non-citizen.
Patricia Krentcil, 58, recounted the alleged encounter on a recent episode of her “Light Tan Up” podcast with co-host Adam Barta. Sitting in a black top that showcased her deeply weathered, mottled complexion and long blonde hair, she said agents stopped her and her girlfriends as they left a restaurant after a meal.
“They asked me, am I an American citizen and I’m, like, ‘yes,’ you know. It blew my mind,” Krentcil said. “Because I was so tanned, they were about to handcuff me and take me away, God knows where… because once you get in those trucks, you don’t know where you’re going anymore.”
She described the moment as terrifying and said she “held my own” until the agents backed off. Krentcil blamed her appearance for the stop and accused ICE of being “very racist about color,” while slamming President Trump for “supporting all this nonsense.”
The claim has not been independently verified. She provided no specific date, location, or other details that would allow authorities to confirm the incident.
This is hardly Krentcil’s first brush with notoriety tied to her lifelong tanning habit. In 2012, the then-Nutley, N.J., mother was charged with second-degree child endangerment after her then-5-year-old daughter Anna showed up at school with burns and told a nurse she went “tanning with Mommy.” Prosecutors alleged Krentcil brought the girl into a tanning booth at a local salon. Krentcil denied it, insisting her daughter was simply outside playing while she used the booth and that the burns came from ordinary sun exposure. A grand jury declined to indict her in 2013.
The episode turned Krentcil into a tabloid fixture and internet punchline, with her leathery, over-tanned skin becoming the defining image of the story. She has continued tanning in the years since, appearing on podcasts and other media while maintaining that the original charges were unfair.
Social media reaction to her latest claim has been predictably blunt, with many online observers focusing more on her appearance than the immigration angle. One widely shared post covering the podcast clip joked that agents might have been confused because “she looks like an alien,” adding, “Area 51, maybe?”
Krentcil has previously said the original “Tan Mom” saga damaged her finances and reputation. She has lived in Florida in recent years and even briefly explored a Republican U.S. Senate run there, though she did not appear on the ballot.
A note on comments: Our advertisers enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy on racism, hate speech, and threats of violence. Any comment that crosses that line will be removed and the account permanently banned — no warnings. Debate hard, but keep it civil.