The topless Medusa: Rihanna wears nothing but a snake nest on 25th anniversary cover of British GQ directed by Damian Hirst

Rihanna swaps River Island for reptiles on her latest magazine cover as she poses topless with snakes wrapped around her body.

The singer stares back at readers of British GQ on their 25th anniversary issue with slit-like pupils and a possessed gaze.

The provocative photographs, directed by Damien Hirst, sees her open mouthed with a visible tongue as a nest of snakes slither around her head.



The cover, shot by photographer Mariano Vivanco, also sees a large python snake rest around her neck as she covers her breasts with her arms.

Ahead of the magazine’s release, Rihanna tweeted about the provocative cover, referring to the shot as making her look like Greek goddess Medusa, a mythological monster who has snakes instead of hair. The images comes just days after she posted pictures on her Instagram depicting her successful attempts at twerking by a pool in Greece.

The singer, who was visiting the southern European nation to shoot her final campaign for British high street chain River Island, also published snaps of herself lying back in a black two-piece.

The 25-year-old is currently globetrotting while taking part in her Diamonds World Tour and was in Israel the previous day.

She enjoyed some ‘me’ time ahead of her sold out Tel Aviv concert and immersed herself in the famous Dead Sea.

Rihanna will then perform in Puerto Rico and her native Barbados before returning to the United States, where her tour will wrap up next month.