Rihanna goes topless in new video shoot

Rihanna has peeled off for a racy new promo shoot, preserving her modesty with alligator-style paint.

The Umbrella hitmaker took to her page on the Instagram website to post a series of snaps from the shoot for her new single Where Have You Been, which show her naked from the waist up and wearing figure-hugging leather trousers.

Green paint was used to cover the singer's breasts in reptilian scales, and a streak of similar green scales adorns her back.

Rihanna has caused a series of controversies with her recent promos - last year (11), her hit track S&M was banned in 11 countries and scenes of simulated sex and drug-taking in the video for We Found Love provoked a storm of criticism.