Maisie Smith and Max George appear to have made light of an Instagram post, which was branded as 'shameful', where they teased a pregnancy.
The celebrity couple received substantial backlash for a recent post where they posed together, as the former EastEnders star held her belly, which was captioned: "We've got some really exciting news..."
In the picture, The Wanted singer, Max, was looking down at his partner's 'bump' with his hand over his mouth. You'd have expected the post to be announcing a pregnancy.
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Well, that's not what happened. In a follow-up post the couple revealed that this supposed big news was that they'd 'just had the best five course meal of my life', which prompted a significant backlash.
Plenty took to social media to criticise the couple for joking about pregnancy, what with it being a delicate subject for those who are either unable or find it very difficult to conceive a child.
The post, which seems to have been made with the intention of having a bit of a joke, was branded as 'shameful' and 'disgusting'.
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One person said that pregnancy was 'NOT something to be joked about' and that it was 'inconsiderate' of those who would dearly love to be able to have a child but could not.
Someone else said they were a big fan of Maisie, but admitted that 'as someone who can't have kids this hits really hard', and agreed with the idea that 'pregnancy is no joke to people who can't have kids'.
Lots of celebrities use their social media channels in a similar way to make major announcements such as a pregnancy, but for lots of people, the joke post didn't land in the way the couple intended.
Others did defend Smith and George, saying the post was a 'joke which lasted a few mins' and that it was 'not that deep'.
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The couple have not directly addressed the backlash, though one of their recent posts has been seen as a reference to it.
On his Instagram page, The Wanted singer Max posted a picture of the couple enjoying milkshakes together with the caption: "Never. Eating. Again."
This is not the first time the couple have had a backlash for their social media posts. Their Valentine's Day snaps were criticised for including gifts from fashion brand Balenciaga, which plunged itself into controversy, due to an ad campaign featuring teddy bears dressed in S&M gear.
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Brand ambassador Kim Kardashian cut ties with Balenciaga over the episode, saying the images were 'disgusting'.
Tyla have contacted representatives of Maisie Smith and Max George for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Parenting, TV And Film
Joe Harker