She's covering Vogue's annual Shape issue which is frequently a lightning rod for controversy and criticism.
We're loving how the shot is channeling cartoon vamp Jessica Rabbit, not to mention Ariel from Little Mermaid -a great pop culture reference for one of the world's biggest pop stars.
Ri-ri had accidentally leaked news of the cover shoot some months ago, excitedly tweeting (and promptly deleting):
"Just wrapped my first American Vogue cover shoot with Annie Leibovitz…Rah! #SEXY"And we agree - Rahhhhhhh!