Fans have rushed to the defence of Aquaman star Jason Momoa after he was "body-shamed" on social media.

The 39-year-old Hollywood star was pictured shirtless while on holiday with his wife Lisa Bonet in Italy when some commentators criticised the actor for his physique.

One person asked "what happened to the abs?" while another said he has a "dad bod".

We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

However, many people rushed to point out the ridiculousness of the comments.

One Twitter user sagely wrote: "How about we don't body shame Jason Momoa or anybody for that matter no matter their gender be kind and respectful please because looks are superficial and have no meaning."

Another commentator observed that Momoa's workout regime to get "Aquaman-ready is probably comparable to a full-time job."

"It's not surprising or remotely a problem that he doesn't put his body through that all the time," they added.

"So apparently people are shaming Jason Momoa's Dad bod... you know the body where he looks like an above average fit man instead of a Spartan Warrior?" another person said.

One observer said "if you ever feel bad about your body, just remember that even Jason Momoa gets body shamed so yeah society has no clue what's its f****** talking about."

Another writer joked: "If I had half the body Jason Momoa has in the picture, I'd literally never wear a shirt again."

Rather amusingly, one twitterer wrote: "if this picture of Jason Momoa is considered a dad bod please point me in the direction of the dads."