Chris Brown's Tattoo Artist Speaks Out

Controversy over Chris Brown’s new neck tattoo has the artist coming out to defend himself.

Recently the “Think Like a Man” actor was seen sporting new ink that looked suspiciously like a battered and bruised ex, Rihanna.

The artist of the tattoo, Peter Koskela, is denying any claims that he knowingly marked the singer with such a picture.

“I hate when people misinterpret what I do,” he told E! news. "It was really a blow to me to think that people would think so little of a person that I would actually put a picture of a beaten woman on his neck. That was crazy to me, that he would come to me and say, 'Hey, I want Rihanna's face on me…' I would never promote any kind of domestic violence like that…

"Even if he asked me to do it, I would have bounced right there. I don't do racist tattoos, I don't do gang-related tattoos and I don't do anything hurtful. That is just the motto I live by. The other tattoo artists might, but I just don't."

So what’s the real story behind the tattoo?

"His tattoo is a sugar skull and a M.A.C cosmetics design he saw. It is not Rihanna or an abused woman as erroneously reported. It is peeling right now," claims a rep for the singer.

"The dude is serious about his art," Koskela, continued. “When something inspires him, he wants it somewhere on his body, but he never said why he wanted to get that particular piece… When I did see the picture and his head was cocked to the side, it did look like it was rough around the edges… People thought it was a beat-up face, but it takes two weeks to heal because the neck is constantly moving."

Well, it is hard to deny that the tattoo looks almost uncannily like his battered ex, so it’s understandable that people are talking. And whether or not Brown intended it to be a reminder of that day, Koskela isn’t to blame here—if it is indeed a reminder of the incident with Rihanna, that’s all on Brown.

I guess in about two weeks, we’ll be able to see if it’s just an innocent tattoo with an unfortunate connotation, or if Brown’s reps are smudging the truth just a tad about a tasteless choice in tattoo.