Heidi Klum called out after faking pregnancy for April Fools' Day prank

Heidi Klum has received huge backlash after she posted an April Fools' Day prank on Instagram, with fans calling it ‘tasteless’ and ‘heartless’.

Of course, we all love a good old fashioned April Fools' prank... but when is a prank considered to be a bit too far?

Well, Heidi Klum seems to have given us that answer.

The 49-year-old decided to reveal to her fans she was pregnant for this year's April Fools', posing with her fellow America's Got Talent judges in the skit on Instagram.

During the elaborate prank, co-star Howie Mandel shared a pic of the Victoria’s Secret model with a bump poking out of her black skirt and cardigan.

In the caption, he tagged the host and playfully wrote: “Congratulations @heidklum. Co-workers. @sofiavergara and I are the first to known.”

Instagram/@sofiavergara

The Modern Family actor also joined in by kissing Klum’s ‘bump’ and then sharing the image on her Instagram stories, writing “I’m going to be an aunt”.

The supermodel did eventually come clean and shared a photo of Mandel wearing the prosthetic bump on her story.

Poking fun at the earlier posts, she joked: “From me to you congratulations.”

But it seems the playful prank - which was intended to be completely harmless - has backfired somewhat, as fans have angrily hit back at the German model.

Some of the commenters even shared their own experiences and struggles with infertility as they criticised Klum's prank.

In one particularly heartbreaking comment, one person wrote: “If this is a joke for April Fools it isn’t funny. As who dealt with infertility and 9 miscarriages before finally having my 3 kids…. I find this extremely distasteful.”

They continued, adding that the prank was ‘hurtful to those women still going through their infertility journey.”

Many agreed with the Instagram user, with one former fan writing ‘this isn’t funny for sooo many human beings…’ and another adding that the judges should be ‘ashamed’ of themselves.

Instagram/@heidiklum

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Klum has received criticism for her outlandish pranks and costumes as back in 2008, she attended her annual Halloween party dressed as the Hindu goddess Kali.

After the photo went viral, many Hindus lashed out at the model for dressing as the religious figure who is worshipped around the world.

Klum never made a public apology, but did try to brush off the offensive costume and even told press at the event that it had been her assistant’s idea.