Where Did Ed's Lion Tattoo Go?!

Possessing great talent, wealth, and fame gets really boring, so Ed Sheeran killed a little time recently by lying about a massive lion tattoo he claimed he got on his chest. One of the problems with this hoax is that it's far too believable. Sheeran's body is covered with tattoos, all of which he explained to VH1 tell a story about his career and life so far. The explanation he gave for getting the lion fell in with his tat narrative and made sense given the fact that he's an animal lover. But the extremely odd follow-up photo of his tattoo-less chest should make you question everything in life. It's The Dress all over again.

(Update: Ed Sheeran does have a lion tattoo! He revealed on Instagram Wednesday that it was covered up with makeup for a TV appearance he was making.)

Two weeks ago, the 24-year-old singer unveiled an extremely colorful, mammoth-sized tattoo of a lion on his chest. Some questioned whether Sheeran's tattoo was a tribute to Cecil the Lion. Others simply assumed, based on the tattoo artist's own explanation, that Sheeran had visited his trusted artist Kevin Paul and sat for the first six hours of what would be a 12-hour ink job. Sheeran even told BBC that he chose a lion to honor the fact that he's sold out Wembley Stadium three nights in a row (the lion is featured on the English National Team's logo).

Here's what it looked like in his original Instagram pic:

Fast forward to Wednesday morning, when Sheeran posted this weird photo — of what one assumes is his bare chest, decorated in toilet paper — which is lion-free:

He confirmed on Twitter that he was just kidding about his lion:

And even Paul, who was in on the "hoax," expressed disbelief that Sheeran's tat was headline news:

OK guys, it's time to get totally creepy (don't worry, I've volunteered to be creepy for you) and dissect both of these photos in order to prove that something is obviously off here. And many of Sheeran's Instagram commenters have noticed it too.

First of all, just three days ago, Sheeran posted this photo with his buddies and you may notice the length of his facial hair is significantly shorter than it is in the no-tattoo chest photo:

Your inner attorney is shouting, "That doesn't prove anything! He could have taken this group shot any time! Try again, woman."

My pleasure. The next issue with above tattoo-less chest photo: The singer's neck is quite dark, when compared with the rest of his body — almost as if someone painted makeup on him to make him look like he has an Adam's apple. Why, I do declare, that is the back of Sheeran's head! That's his hairline and not his beard. And those two prominent birthmarks he has on the left side of his neck (I warned you this would get creepy) — nowhere to be found here. Eureka!

Time will tell whether he indeed has a lion tattoo on his chest. But, as I see it, he definitely does, that's definitely his back, and the real hoax is that there is no hoax at all. Well played, Ed.