Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson upsets fans after posing in a 'Cecil The Lion' Halloween costume

By Rachel Mcgrath For Dailymail.com

Published: 00:45 EST, 7 October 2015 | Updated: 03:40 EST, 7 October 2015

Actress Ashley Benson has drawn the ire of social media users after posing in a 'Cecil The Lion' Halloween costume and sharing the image via Instagram.

The 25-year-old star of the TV series Pretty Little Liars shared a photo of herself wearing the low cut gold one-piece that has a faux fur hood and lion-like ears.

'Help! Can't decide on my Halloween costume this year!" she wrote alongside the snap. 'What do you guys thing of this Cecil the Lion costume?'

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Social media oops: Ashley Benson sparked a backlash after posing in this Cecil The Lion Halloween costume and posting the photo on Instagram, asking fans what they thought of it

Offended: The star of ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars quickly removed the reference to the 13-year-old lion killed by an American dentist for a fee of $50,000. Her original post is shown left; the changed one on the right
Offended: The star of ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars quickly removed the reference to the 13-year-old lion killed by an American dentist for a fee of $50,000. Her original post is shown left; the changed one on the right

Offended: The star of ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars quickly removed the reference to the 13-year-old lion killed by an American dentist for a fee of $50,000. Her original post is shown left; the changed one on the right

What a lot of people thought, it turned out, was, 'you have to be kidding!' Several users commented on the actress's post that the costume was 'offensive' and in 'bad taste'. 

Ashley soon changed her posting, removing the reference to the 13-year-old lion killed in Zimbabwe by a Minnesota dentist who paid $50,000 for the privilege.

The killing caused an international uproar.

See more Halloween news on celebrity and controversial costumes 

Deleted offending words: Ashley, pictured out in Hollywood last week, moved quickly to try and defuse the backlash she got for posing in the costume

Deleted offending words: Ashley, pictured out in Hollywood last week, moved quickly to try and defuse the backlash she got for posing in the costume

The costume she posed in is in fact a Deluxe Lion Costume by Yandy, which retails at $149.95, however they also sell a skimpier version titled 'Cecil The Lion Costume', at a price of $118.95.

The retailer says that 20 percent of the proceeds of the limited edition costume will be donated to a global conservation organization.

Benson began her acting career at the age of 10 after landing a recurring role on the NBC soap Days Of Our Lives.

She went on to be cast in ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars in 2009 and in 2012, she replaced Emma Roberts, who dropped out, in the film Spring Breakers. Her co-stars in the movie released in 2013 were James Franco, Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens.

Celebrity profile: The actress, 25, started out as a child actress on daytime soap Days Of Our Lives and in 2013 she starred with James Franco, center, and Vanessa Hudgens, right, in the movie Spring Breakers

Celebrity profile: The actress, 25, started out as a child actress on daytime soap Days Of Our Lives and in 2013 she starred with James Franco, center, and Vanessa Hudgens, right, in the movie Spring Breakers

 

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