The Come & Get It singer unveiled her new 'Om' skin art on her thigh on Friday (18Sep15) during a beach day in Miami, Florida, and the snaps that appeared online have upset religious leaders.

Calling the tattoo "highly irreverent and disrespectful", leading U.S. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed tells WENN, "Hindus usually start and end their prayers with 'Om', the mystical syllable containing the universe.

"Such trivialisation of 'Om' is upsetting to Hindus. It's highly inappropriate for Selena to place such a revered and sacred symbol of Hinduism, with high religious significance, on her thigh."

It isn't the first time Gomez has upset Zed, the president of the Universal Society of Hinduism - in 2013 he took aim at the singer/actress for her sultry performance of Come & Get It at the MTV Movie Awards, while wearing a bindi on her forehead.

Zed called the decision to wear the spiritual Hindu decoration while performing a provocative pop song "insensitive".

He tells WENN, "As a renowned performer, Selena should get acquainted with the basics of world religions... Hinduism concepts and symbols have well-defined meanings and purposes and these were not created just for Hollywood stars.

"We welcome celebrities to immerse themselves in Hinduism but to take it seriously and respectfully and not just for the indecorous showing of Hindu symbols and concepts to advance their selfish agenda. Casual flirting sometimes results in pillaging serious spiritual doctrines and revered symbols, hurting the devotees."