Heidi Klum receiving backlash over faking pregnancy on April Fool's Day

Fans may be used to Heidi Klum dominating Halloween with her creative costumes, but were definitely shocked when the model decided to wear something a little different this April Fool's Day.

The America's Got Talent judge donned a prosthetic belly, fully visible under a black crop sweater, in a picture posted on Instagram by by co-star Howie Mandel.

In the snap, Klum is joined by fellow AGT judge, Modern Family's Sofia Vergara, as she kissed her pal's fake baby bump. The actress also reposted the image to her Instagram Stories.

Instagram/@sofiavergara

While Klum recently spoke up on the possibility to have another child with her husband, musician Tom Kaulitz, some of her followers immediately realised the post wasn't a pregnancy announcement.

It wasn't just a look at the calendar that gave Klum's jest away, but also one of her Instagram Stories, in which Mandel can be seen wearing the same prosthetic bump, with Klum kissing it.

"From me to you, congratulations," she wrote in the story, adding an April Fool's GIF for good measure.

But despite making sure people knew it was nothing more than a joke on the silliest day of the year, the model was met with backlash. Some Instagram users flooded Mandel's original post with comments, pointing out the prank was in poor taste, particularly given there are so many who struggle to conceive.

"If this is a joke for Aprils fools it isn’t funny. As a woman who dealt with infertility and 9 miscarriages before finally having my 3 kids it is extremely I find this extremely distasteful and hurtful to those women still going through their infertility journey," one person shared.

"When will people stop this joke for April fool’s. It’s not funny. It's tasteless," was another comment, while someone else declared: "Pregnancy jokes aren't really funny anymore."

Instagram/@heidiklum

Among the many negative comments slamming Klum's joke, some opened up on their own infertility stories, admitting they didn't find the prank offensive.

"Meh. I struggled with 5 years of infertility, several losses along the way and ultimately fertility treatment to have a successful live birth. Pregnancy jokes don't offend me, guess I'm the odd one out. Don't speak for all of us," one person noted.

Another user wrote: "I have struggled to get pregnant. Been trying for 13 years with no luck. But I don't get offended at this. Coz we all need to stop being over sensitive at every damn thing. Let people do what they want to do and your life will become more peaceful. Geez."

Let's see if Heidi's next costume choice will get the internet talking again?