The singer had a New York artist flown to L.A. to ink the design.
By Jocelyn Vena

Rihanna
Photo: Marcel Thomas/ Getty Images

Rihanna has reportedly gotten some new ink. The singer, who has been under intense scrutiny from her fans and the media ever since she was allegedly assaulted by her on-again, off-again boyfriend Chris Brown last month, reportedly flew New York-based tattoo artist BangBang out to Los Angeles to tattoo a small gun on her body.

BangBang posted pictures of Rihanna and the new gun tat, which is on her ribcage, on his MySpace page. According to the tattoo artist, Rihanna originally wanted the tattoo placed just below her shoulders near her armpits — as shown in a photo where BangBang sketched the guns there — but she changed her mind because of her CoverGirl contract.

"I really wanted to put it here... she loved 'em... but, cover girl wouldn't have liked it much... and they pay the bills!" he wrote under the photo, captioning another, "ended up doing it on her ribbs..."

Rihanna is a fan of getting inked. The singer's other tattoos include a collection of stars down her back, a music note on her ankle, a Pisces sign behind her right ear, a tribal tattoo on her hand and the word "Shhh..." on her index finger. (According to other photos on BangBang's MySpace page, the New York artist is responsible for some of these designs.)

The tattoo photos came just a day after news broke that a movement is taking root in Los Angeles to pass "Rihanna's Law," which would prevent the release of photos or information that exploits victims of crimes. The law is gaining momentum in the wake of a leaked photo of a bruised Rihanna. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the leak and possible sale of the photo to the Web site TMZ after the image had been entered into evidence. TMZ has claimed it obtained the photo legally but has not said how it came into possession of the image.

• Rihanna