Fans cause online furore by mimicking model Winnie Harlow's vitiligo with make-up on social media.

Winnie Harlow, a former America's Next Top Model contestant, whose real name is Chantelle Brown-Young, was diagnosed with vitiligo around the age of four.

She was cruelly nicknamed 'zebra' and 'cow' because of the pigment condition, which Michael Jackson famously had, and causes white patches to form on skin. 

Now, 21-year-old Winnie, who describes her self as a 'vitiligo spokesmodel' on Instagram, is being celebrated for her distinctive look, bagging top fashion campaigns.

Now the Canadian model's striking looks are being applauded in an entirely different way, as her fans attempt to emulate the star by using make-up to mimic the appearance of her skin condition.

But the images of her admirers, which have spread across social media, have, however, faced backlash.

Many Twitter and Instagram users claim the photos are a form of ‘blackface’.

Responding to the furore, Winnie herself added to the social media debate by posting a snap of the women mimicking her look with an explanatory caption.

Writing to her 913,000 Instagram followers, she said: 'My response to this is probably not what a lot of people want but here it goes: every time someone wants fuller lips, or a bigger bum, or curly hair, or braids does Not mean our culture is being stolen. 

'Have you ever stop to realize these things used to be ridiculed and now they're loved and lusted over. No one wants to "steal" our look here. We've just stood so confidently in our own nappy hair and du-rags and big asses (or in this case, my skin) that now those who don't have it love and lust after it.

'Just because a black girl wears blue contacts and long weave doesn't mean she wants to be white and just because a white girl wears braids and gets lip injection doesn't mean she wants to be black. The amount of mixed races in this world is living proof that we don't want to be each other we've just gained a national love for each other. 

'Why can't we embrace that feeling of love? Why do we have to make it a hate crime? In a time when so much negative is happening, please don't accuse those who are showing love and appreciation, of being hateful. It is very clear to me when someone is showing love and I appreciate these people recreating, loving and broadcasting something to the world that once upon a time I cried myself to sleep over #1LOVE'.

The post has received 21,800 likes and has spread across social media and news publications globally. Comments in response to her post have, however, been mixed, leading her to post a follow up message to her fans. 

She added: ‘NoOne positive is talking bout black face’ and went on to explain that women of all skin colours are simply showing support for her condition, which she deems to be empowering not offensive.