Chris Brown's rep denies new tattoo is Rihanna's swollen face

Chris Brown's rep Tuesday shot down reports that the hip-hop star got a neck tattoo of a women's beaten, bruised face, saying rather it is a Mexican "sugar skull."

"His tattoo is a sugar skull (associated with the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead) and a MAC cosmetics design he saw," said Jeff Raymond. "It is not Rihanna or an abused woman as erroneously reported."

Newly publicized photos Tuesday showed the tattoo, which at first was reported to be a woman with the right side of her face beaten, with what appear to be stitches in her lips and a black eye. He likely got it early this month.

The ink resembles the infamous photo of Rihanna's bruised and swollen mug after Brown assaulted her in 2009.

Brown, 23, was charged with a felony and received probation, community service and other punishments in the beating, and a restraining order separated him from Rihanna, 24. It was lifted in February.

The couple seems to have moved past the incident, with Rihanna kissing Brown during last week's VMA awards. In an interview with Oprah earlier this month, the Barbados-born singer said

"I just felt like he made that mistake because he needed help and who’s going to help him? Nobody’s going to say he needs help," Rihanna said, in the interview shown on Oprah's OWN.

"Everybody’s going to say he’s a monster without looking at the source, and I was more concerned about him," she said. "I truly love him."

Rihanna's rep didn't return requests for comment.