RIHANNA BAFFLED BY BARBED WIRE SNAP OUTRAGE

Rihanna's first single since her highly-publicised fight with Chris Brown in February (09) features a saucy shot of the star posing in nothing but an eye-patch, barbed-wire around her breasts and a basque.

The Umbrella hitmaker is finding it hard to understand why people have been so shocked by the snap - but she's happy her tough new image is making waves.

She tells British radio station Key 103, "I don't know why people are so surprised that I'm scantily clad, I've always been scantily clad, I've always been that way.

"I definitely thought the barbed wire was cool, it was a symbol of strength but fearlessness all at once, that's why we used it.

"We took our time and wrapped that barbed wire around me. It took forever because we had to wrap it round the front of me - a certain area - a few times more than the rest of me so that it would cover the necessary."