The star of 'The Knight Before Christmas' has posted a photo of her and sister Stella attempting to look sexy while modelling masks, with a caption that read, 'We ain't afraid of no flu.'

• Feb 4, 2020

AceShowbiz - Vanessa Hudgens found herself at the centre of backlash after sharing a picture many deemed in "poor taste" amid the coronavirus crisis in China.

"The Knight Before Christmas" star took to Instagram on Monday, February 03 to post a snap of herself and sister Stella Hudgens attempting to look sexy while modelling masks which covered their mouths and noses.

"We ain't afraid of no flu," Vanessa captioned the image.

But she was quickly met with criticism from many of her followers, who pointed out that the picture was insensitive considering that the death toll in China during the coronavirus outbreak currently stands at 361.

"People are dead Vanessa," one commented, while another wrote: "Yikes this is in poor taste ...".

A third replied: "I know it's a funny picture but man there's a lot of people dying I don't think it's something people to joke about oh, it would be like joking about the AIDS epidemic when I first started back in the 1990's."

Other remarks included, "Yikes this is in poor taste ...", "Love you but don’t think this is funny" and "Not good laughing, this is a serious disease".

Vanessa has yet to respond to the backlash and, as WENN went to press, the picture was still on her Instagram page.