Chris Brown Returns To Twitter With Provocative Pic of Rihanna

Less than a week after abandoning Twitter following a profane verbal altercation with comedian and TV producer Jenny Johnson, Chris Brown returned to the service on Sunday with the latest in a string of provocative pictures of formerly and possibly current girlfriend Rihanna.

Brown made no comment about his hiatus from the service that has bedeviled him in the past or about his return, but simply posted a black and white Instagram pic of himself with a satisfied look and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as Rihanna lounged in the background in a bra and underwear, wrapped up in a camouflage blanket.

The caption of the picture was, "What would music today sound like if these kids didn't exist?" At press time, Brown hadn't posted any new tweets, and the only message on the page was, "Keep it here for all things Chris Brown, updates from the tour and more ... #CarpeDiem." The background of the page featured images from Brown's current tour and noted that @chrisbrown hasn't tweeted yet, with no links to his previous Twitter history.

Johnson issued a non-apology about the incident in a personal essay posted by GQ magazine on Friday, in which she said she didn't regret the incident, but had learned a lot from the ordeal, which resulted in several thousand death threats.

"This is not an apol! ogy. I just want to clear some things up," Johnson began, summarizing what went down during the heated Twitter exchange.

She wrote that she assumed people would stop talking about her after a couple days -- but they didn't.

"I didn't want attention from all of this," she continued. "If I wanted attention, I would have accepted all of the invitations to be on shows and to actually give exclusive interviews, but I declined all of them. I didn't think the thousands of (misspelled) death threats I got would have people thinking I saw myself as a victim, because I am NOT a victim of anything, nor have I ever thought I was (excluding the time I paid to see 'The Village'). I've had people assume I dislike Chris Brown because I'm taking up for Rihanna, I'm not. I'm on the side of good, of equality and respect for my fellow woman. I was raised to not respect a person who doesn't respect others. And one human being physically harming another human being is one of the most disrespectful acts there is. I have never been a victim of domestic abuse, nor was I raised in a house where there was abuse. I do, however, know people who have been victims of abuse by a so-called 'loved one' and I've seen the long term damage it does."

The feud started after Brown tweeted a photo of himself with the caption, "I look old as f---! I'm only 23." Johnson, who has been taking comedic pot shots at Brown online for several years since the singer pleaded guilty to felony assault on ex- (and seemingly once again) girlfriend Rihanna, responded with the comment, "I know! Being a worthless piece of sh-- can really age a person." Brown took the bait, leading to a vulgar exchange that included a threat to "shart" in Johnson's mouth.

The essay came on the same day that XXL magazine released excerpts from a December/January cover story with Brown in which the singer claimed he was trying to get his Twitter outbursts under control.

"I haven't been as mature and thought out in the past, so, me growing now, it's showing my progression," said Brown of his difficulty in the past with keeping his cool on social media. "I used to use my Twitter account to vent, but now I mostly use it for marketing and promotions.

Even if the media asks me something, if it's cool then it's, 'What's up?' But if it's anything that's too negative, I don't care to respond."