Rihanna deemed too sexy for Nivea?
(CBS News) Rihanna is no longer the face of Nivea, reportedly because she's too sexy for the skin-care brand.
According to the U.K.'s Press Association, Stefan Heidenreich, the CEO of Nivea's parent company, Beiersdorf, told the German newspaper Welt that the singer was a "no go."
"I do not understand how to bring the core brand of Nivea in conjunction with Rihanna," he said, adding, "Nivea is a company which stands for trust, family and reliability."
The singer appeared in a series of advertisements for Nivea last year, including one in which she posed naked for the brand's 100th anniversary, the Press Association notes. Her song "California King Bed" was featured in an ad campaign, and Nivea sponsored her tour last year.
In a statement to the U.K.'s MarketingWeek, a rep for Beiersdorf denied the company had fired Rihanna, but said the focus of Nivea's advertising strategy has changed.
"In 2011 Nivea worked with the artist Rihanna in the context of the brand's 100th birthday anniversary campaign. From the beginning this music-cooperation was scheduled for one year and ended as planned at the end of 2011," a spokesperson said.
"Within the future brand positioning Nivea focuses more than ever on its core values. This leads to a change in advertising strategy as well as marketing campaigns," the statement continued. "Beiersdorf and Nivea thank Rihanna for her work in relation to the 100th birthday anniversary campaign and feel respect and sympathy for her as a person and artist."
Rihanna offered up an apparent response to Heidenreich's remarks on her Twitter account Tuesday, posting his headshot and writing, "No caption necessary."
