One of Rihanna’s most unique and visible tattoos is a phrase written in French on her neck. Rihanna’s neck tattoo is written in script and reads “rebelle fleur,” which was meant to translate to “rebel flower.” The tattoo is located on the left side of Rihanna’s neck and very nearly touches the cluster of stars she has tattooed on her neck and back. The singer’s neck tattoo was inked in August 2010 at East Side Ink in New York City, presumably by Rihanna’s trusty tattoo artist, Keith “Bang Bang” McCurdy. Bang Bang has done many of the pop star’s tattoos and she keeps close ties with her favorite tattoo artist, so she keeps coming back for more!
The Controversy Over Rihanna’s Rebelle Fleur Tattoo
Some people say that in order to be grammatically correct, Rihanna’s neck tattoo should read “fleur rebelle,” which is the way the phrase would appear in a proper French sentence, with the noun first. Just to be clear, Rihanna states that both “rebelle” and “fleur” are nouns in the way she intends it, so the translation is actually correct as rebel flower – not rebellious – and the words shouldn’t be reversed. Either way, this tattoo of Rihanna’s sure got a lot of media attention, even though it wasn’t all good.
Meaning of Rihanna’s Neck Tattoo
At first glance, Rihanna’s neck tattoo seems to be an oxymoron. How rebellious can a flower really be, after all? However, we have come to understand a little more about the Bajan beauty throughout the years, and her neck tattoo clearly represents a sort of duality, similar to her Pisces tattoo located behind her right ear. Flowers represent femininity and tenderness, which may reflect one side of Rihanna, while rebellion represents a sort of disobedience and disorder, which may reflect the singer’s alternate side.
It’s clear from Rihanna’s recent ink that the star is a tattoo enthusiast (she claims it’s an addiction), and the public looks forward to seeing her tats like a kid waiting for Christmas. One of the most interesting aspects of the superstar’s body tattoos though, is figuring out her inspiration for each sexy tat. We didn’t have to wait too long for this one at least, since Rihanna launched her first fragrance, called “Reb’l Fleur,” in 2011. It’s unclear whether the tat or the fragrance idea came first, but regardless, Rihanna is now a walking advertisement for her new perfume. Marketing doesn’t get much better than that!
More Tattoos for Rihanna?
When asked if she’ll be getting more tats, Rihanna reports, “Who knows?” Well, Bang Bang seems to have some inside information about RiRi’s future tattoo plans, claiming they already have more ideas up their sleeves. Bang Bang is responsible for inking several of Rihanna’s tattoos, including her neck tat, and claims that the pop star loves getting inked. All Rihanna’s tattoos seem to be some sort of expression of empowerment, passion or faith, which gives us a little more information about Rihanna, the young superstar rising quickly to the top.
Well, I said I thought about a cose name I would give her and said I like the word fleur in french and how it sounds, but then added but she is not really a flower, flowers are just cute, so more like a rebel flower.