Hilary Duff accused of 'child abuse' by fans for piercing 8mo baby's ears, 'causing tremendous pain'

Hilary Duff has come under fire for showing off her eight-month-old daughter's pierced ears on social media.

The former pop star shared a snap of her little girl Banks with her 12.5 million Instagram followers captioned: "She has enough hair for a pony! Oh and yes we pierced her ears."

It wasn't long before critics slammed Duff, accusing her of "child abuse" and "causing tremendous pain" to her young daughter.

"Just wondering how she gave you consent to pierce her ears? Unfollowing," one fan wrote.

"I can't believe someone who seemed [to have her head] so screwed on pierced her baby's ears, causing unnecessary pain that isn't for medical reasons done by a fully qualified medical professional is child abuse in my eyes," said another.

"How did it make you feel sitting there and watching her have pain inflicted on her unnecessarily?" one Instagram user questioned.

Other fans rushed to defend Duff, calling out her critics for "mum-shaming".

"This is a beautiful photo! Hillary isn't likely to take her daughter's earnings out just because a bunch of strangers tell her how horrible of a mum she is for doing it in the first place," one comment read.

"Got my bubs ears pierced at 3mths old, she didn't even wake from her sleep, not one single problem with them," said another.

"She's now older and has never had an issue. She can always take them out if she hates them. You all crazy giving someone crap over what they do to 'their' child."

It's not the first time the Lizzie McGuire star has experienced backlash for broadcasting her parenting choices. In 2016, she defended a photo of her kissing her son Luca on the lips at Disneyland, which some dubbed "unhealthy". 

"For anyone commenting that a kiss on the lips with my four-year-old is 'inappropriate', go ahead and click a quick unfollow with your warped minds and judgment," she wrote in response.

Newshub.