Chris Brown has denounced suggestions that his new tattoo depicts ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

A photograph of the R&B star taken on September 1 which clearly shows his newest neck tattoo has been circulating on the internet recently. The tattoo bears a striking resemblance to a beaten woman.

Brown split from Rihanna in 2009 after assulting her, leaving her with significant facial injuries. Brown, who was 20 at the time, initially pleaded not-guilty before entering a guilty plea shortly before he was sentenced to five years’ probation, and six months community labor for the attack, which left the ‘We Found Love‘ singer with a heavily bruised and swollen face.

It has now been revealed the tattoo is not of Rihanna, or anyone in particular. The tattoo is an original design by tattoo artist Peter Koskela that mixes a sugar skull with a MAC cosmetics design,

A sugar skull is a decorative molding of a skull made with sugar paste, a custom in Mexico as part of the Day of the Dead celebrations.

“It is not Rihanna or an abused woman as erroneously reported,” Brown’s rep told RumorFix.

In a recent interview with Oprah, Rihanna declared Chris Brown was ‘the love of her life.’