Chris Brown claims neck tattoo is inspired by Day of The Dead skull he saw in a MAC ad...

Chris Brown has claimed his new neck tattoo is of a skull commemorating a Mexican holiday, after he was forced to come forward and deny the etching was in honour of ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

The 23-year-old singer put the ink on display during an event in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Comparisons were quickly drawn with the Russian Roulette singer, whom he brutally assaulted in 2009, after it echoed her face structure, arched eyebrows and plump lips after the attack.

Chris revealed his neck tattoo at a Las Vegas party on Sept 1

Artistic: Chris' tattoo was inspired by a sugar skull, associated with the Mexican celebration Day of the Dead

 spokesperson told TMZ: 'His tattoo is a sugar skull (associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead) and a MAC cosmetics design he saw. 

'It is not Rihanna or an abused woman as erroneously reported.'

The US website explains that according to the tattoo artist, Chris picked out the design himself and took it to the parlour having seen it on an advert for the cosmetics brand.
The Mexican holiday in question is called Dia de los Muertos, otherwise known as Day of the Dead.

Resemblance: The tattoo has eerie echoes of Rihanna's beaten face following his 2009 assault on her

And while sources close to Chris back up these claims by insisting any similarities to RiRi are purely coincidental, they also contradict the spokesperson, saying: 'It's a random woman.'
The pair sparked rumours that they were rekindling their romance at the MTV VMAs last week after they were seen kissing and hugging.
Rihanna, who touched down at LAX yesterday after a trip to London, opened up about her complicated feelings for her ex to Oprah Winfrey last month, calling him 'the love of my life'.

 

She confirmed they still have a 'very close friendship' and added she felt sympathy for him in the wake of the infamous violent attack that left her in hospital.
She explained: 'I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help.'
'The main thing for me is that he is at peace,' she continued. 'I’m not at peace if he is unhappy or he is still lonely. I care. It actually matters that he finds peace.'

She's back: Rihanna touched down in Los Angeles yesterday after visiting London

Dressed for comfort: The star, who usually opts for racy attire, wore a bar-code hoodie with leggings and Kanye West's Nike Air Yeezy sneakers