By Jeanne Moos

(CNN) - Singer Chris Brown's new tattoo has some wondering just how fond he is of his former girlfriend, Rihanna.

Chris Brown's people say it was a case of mistaken identity, the identity of a tattoo spotted on Chris Brown's neck.

It resembles his former girlfriend, who even now tells Oprah he was the love of her life.

It looked so much like battered Rihanna that even after Brown's representative said it wasn't her, just a random woman, three quarters of TMZ readers said it was definitely Rihanna.

Just the idea that Brown would have a tattoo of a battered woman on his neck prompted tweets like, "The end is near folks. Stockpile water and bullets."

One young woman CNN spoke with looked at the tattoo and saw something different.

"A skeleton maybe," she said.

And sure enough by mid-afternoon Brown's rep said his tattoo is a sugar skull, similar to skulls made out of sugar to honor departed souls on Mexico's Day of the Dead.

The rep described the tattoo as a sugar skull based on a MAC cosmetics design. They even released the design that Brown is said to have given the tattoo artist.

As for all the flak Brown got when most folks thought it was Rihanna...

"Come on Chris Brown you know better than this. I know your mother taught you better than that. That's what I'm gonna say to you even though I love you," said one woman.

Now she can love him again. Even for Chris Brown, wearing a battered woman tattoo seemed like sticking his neck out too far.

 

CNN