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Chris Brown Defends His Non-Rihanna Neck Tattoo: "I'm an Artist and This Is Art"

by Rebecca Macatee Wed., Sep. 12, 2012 7:43 AM PDT

Jeff R. Bottari/Getty Images

Chris Brown's new neck tattoo is causing a lot of controversy.

Some say his new ink resembles a bruised and beaten Rihanna (Brown's rep told E! News this is not the case). But if you ask Brown, this permanent new marking is art.

"I'm an artist and this is art. Dia de los Muertos," he tweeted Tuesday.

Chris Brown inspirts new neck-tattoo meme

Indeed, Brown's publicist told E! News the tattoo "is a sugar skull (associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead) and a MAC cosmetics design he saw."

Tattoo artist Peter Koskela backed this up, telling E! News Brown's ink is "a sugar skull based on the MAC design that Chris brought me."

Fair enough. Funnily enough, just an hour after Brown defended his tattoo, he tweeted that his aptly titled "Don't Judge Me" video will be released soon.

—Reporting by Sharareh Drury

Here are some other celebrities with tattoos