Ed Sheeran has confirmed his bizarre lion tattoo is real and he was only joking when he pretended it was fake.
The 'Sing' hitmaker made his followers question if the large black and orange chest tattoo was a prank on Wednesday when he showed off an ink-free torso on Instagram and wrote, "Was only joking about the lion".
However, fans were not convinced by the statement as he appeared to be wearing make-up on the area, and Sheeran confessed hours later that he had deliberately misled them and was only wearing cover-up cosmetics for a TV appearance.
He posted an image of his chest after some of the make-up had been wiped off, proving the lion was still there, and wrote, "Only joking, covered it up for a TV show, didn't I."
His tattoo artist Kevin Paul told Britain's The Sun newspaper, "It's real... I don't know why he's playing with people."
Sheeran was the subject of ridicule from many critics online after he revealed the garish body art earlier this month.
WENN.com