The mainstream media ginned up a storm this morning with false speculation that Chris Brown’s new neck tattoo might depict a battered Rihanna. Thus commenced a wild-goose-chase that set Twitter on its ear and put most celebrity death hoaxes to shame.
Chris Brown — Did He Tattoo Rihanna On His Neck? http://t.co/d1RVAI10
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 11, 2012
Sooo, is @ChrisBrown's new neck tattoo supposed to be Rihanna? http://t.co/vTsLkIz9
— VH1 (@VH1) September 11, 2012
Chris Brown's insane neck tattoo looks like battered Rihanna http://t.co/LiRQapRX
— SPIN (@SPIN) September 11, 2012
Is Chris Brown’s neck tattoo of Rihanna’s bruised and beaten face? http://t.co/hN49nuWy
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 11, 2012
Chris Brown tattoos a battered woman's face on his neck. Take a look & tell us what you think: http://t.co/OPuyThdr
— billboard (@billboard) September 11, 2012
The brilliant minds over at ThinkProgress took the bait hook, line, and sinker:
Chris Brown tattoos an image of a battered woman on his neck: http://t.co/DorVPwLr
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) September 11, 2012
Of course, we can’t count on ThinkProgress for creativity. For that we need the help of the general public:
I like to think Lisbeth Salander tied Chris Brown to a bed and gave him that tattoo.
— Christine Nangle (@nanglish) September 11, 2012
https://twitter.com/caitlinmoran/status/245541255570935810
https://twitter.com/melirose89/status/245681612828839937
Fuck Chris Brown sideways. What a piece of steaming shit. http://t.co/Ydf7xsHT #ViolenceAgainstWomen via @dvnix
— Simon Says (@SayethSimon) September 11, 2012
Wow Chris Brown is a total piece of shit! Wow! Wow wow wow. Feminist vigilantes you know what to do http://t.co/NaSTJLlk
— onekade (@onekade) September 11, 2012
https://twitter.com/lobeline/status/245559444883263488
There were a number of normal people, without the benefit of journalism degrees, who figured out exactly what the image depicted. It’s a half-alive skull to depict the Mexican holiday of Dio de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Some even posted (gasp!) photographic evidence!
Chris Brown's new neck tattoo resembles this face ART! http://t.co/00FVCF2q
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownZone) September 11, 2012
Not trying to take up for Chris Brown, but I don't see a battered woman in that tat. It reminds me of 1 of those Dia De Los Muertos skulls.
— Smarti B (@pinksunflowuhhs) September 11, 2012
https://twitter.com/LoveTerrorist/status/245574843033075712
Brown later confirmed this, and that should have been the end of it. But there are those who still haven’t gotten the memo. This one was re-posted at 8:31 p.m. Eastern Time:
Chris Brown tattoos an image of a battered woman on his neck http://t.co/DorVPwLr #icymi
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) September 12, 2012
Now, we at Twitchy don’t condone violence against women, and frankly we dislike Chris Brown’s music almost as much as we detest his treatment of his girlfriend (or is it his former girlfriend?). But that said, it’s not RiRi, people! It’s not even a battered woman. In fact, if it were on anyone else’s neck, condemnations of the image would probably be labelled anti-Hispanic.
Some people never learn.
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