Jessica Simpson fans furious over her daughter's 'inappropriate' photo: 'Protect your children'

Jessica Simpson has left some of her fans and followers fuming by sharing a bikini-clad photo of her 5-year-old daughter on social media.

The mother-of-two shared a photo of Maxwell on Instagram that some have deemed "inappropriate" and accused her of sexualising her daughter.

In the photo, Maxwell can be seen posing next to her toy scooter while pouting and waving at the camera. "Safety first," the songstress captioned the image.

"Protect your children. This is not for social media," one commented and another added, "Shame. Sexualizing an 8 (sic) year old."

While some of her fans and followers slammed the 36-year-old singer for sharing the photo, many others rushed to her defence.

"Everyone needs to relax! I'm sure her daughter watches tv and red carpets and does these poses on her own for fun! It's what young girls do! I'd rather have my daughter wearing a bikini a posing like a model then acting like any of you judgmental assholes," a third wrote, while another said, "Anyone who finds this picture inappropriate, or sexual, needs their head checked by a psychiatrist and should be registered as a sex offender."

"I like Jessica, and I think this picture is cute, but it should only be shared privately. Otherwise I've got 2 words for you: JonBenét Ramsey," another added.

This is not the first time her parenting style has come under the spotlight. On 1 May, Jessica celebrated Maxwell's 5th birthday party by sharing a photo of her daughter in a mermaid costume with a shell-shaped crop top.

"I feel sorry for you that you DON'T think dressing over-provocative encourages bad things," a fans had said on the photo and video sharing platform.