Rhianna Benson
The 'Queen of Christmas', Mariah Carey, had her seasonal celebrations somewhat tainted this week, after a pack of social media users made cruel remarks about her son, Morocco.
For those in need of a reminder, the 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' hitmaker, 56, shares both her son and his fraternal twin sister, Monroe, 14, with ex-husband Nick Cannon. The couple wed in the Bahamas in 2008 after collaborating on the music video for her much-loved track 'Bye Bye', with their children being born three years later.
In the years since their 2014 divorce, Carey and Cannon have amicably co-parented 'Roc' and 'Roe', as they're nicknamed.
"How do I say this?" she mused during a Harper's Bazaar interview earlier this year. "They spend time with him, and they have a good time; they spend time with me, and they have a good time."
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Carey went on to claim: "I want to make sure I’m always fair about the situation because it’s tough to grow up with divorced parents."
This agreement has seen the twins share the festive season with each of their parents - luckily for the musician, however, this year was her turn to host.
Taking to Instagram on Saturday (27 Dec), Carey shared a sweet family photo alongside her son and daughter, both of whom rocked Christmas jumpers depicting an image of their mother, taken straight from the music video of her 90s holiday banger.
Whilst Monroe stands with her arms by her side, her brother holds his hands up before him.
Unfortunately, however, Morocco's hand placement has seemingly set tongues wagging for all the wrong reasons, with social media critics accusing the youngster of displaying 'gang signs'.
"What are those fingers up for? When is he symbolising?" one Instagram user asked.
Another demanded: "What’s with the gang signs ?? Cmon now."
"The boy is throwing up the same gang signs in every picture. Gang Gang!" a third claimed.
"It surely not a beautiful picture," another wrote, adding, however: "I think the son is trying to maybe put up the middle finger maybe not I'm sure it's some kind of hand gesture probably not in a good way."
The same user went on to write: "Kids need to learn to smile appreciate what they have around you."
As we say, however, a number of Carey's fans have since jumped to her defence, with some accusing critics of reaching for a reality that just isn't there, and others making claims of racial profiling.
"He’s putting up peace signs," one pointed out. "How blind do u have to be to ignore his index fingers being up?"
Another agreed, asking: "Are you blind or just stupid? That is not a gang sign."
"A lot of kids are doing this pose," a third fan chimed in. "It's not a gang sign."