Slash was impressed with Rihanna's decision to mimic him in her new music video, insisting the pop beauty delivered "an element of sexuality" with her cross-dressing tribute.
The singer recruited the former Guns N' Roses star to perform a riff on her track Rockstar 101 and was desperate for him to feature in its accompanying promo clip.
When the guitarist was unable to film a cameo, Rihanna decided to depict him herself - appearing with his trademark top hat, sunglasses and mane of unruly curls.
And Slash is "flattered" by the footage, telling MTV.com, "I was supposed to actually be in that video. I played on the song, and they called me up to ask me to play in the video, but my record was just coming out, and I was sort of worn thin. She was really sweet. She sent me this pleading text to come do the video, but I couldn't make it work. I told her that me not being in the video wasn't going to make or break it.
"The video is way better with her being me than with me being me. All things considered, it brings an element of sexuality to it that I probably wouldn't have been capable of. I think it's hot, and I sent her a text this morning telling her it was definitely hotter with her doing it than with me doing it. Everything works out the way it's supposed to.
"I'm way more flattered that she played me in the video than her asking me to be in it. All things considered, she's pretty cool."