Cinderella star Lily James has been wrongly accused of racism after she posted a picture on her Instagram account which fans took to be mocking the Japanese accent.

The stunning actress posted a snap of herself in a floor-length pink gown at the Tokyo premiere of her new film under the caption: "'Shinderera' premiere in Tokyo. The final stop on our tour and it was a beautiful cold night, thank you!

While Lily's dress was very impressive, fans were more bothered by her caption - which many thought was mocking Japanese pronuciation.

"Tacky racist/ racially stereotype comment is pretty gross," commented one.

"Not sure if that's a racist comment or it's the real name there," said another.

"I'm pretty sure it's just a joke guys calm down," said another fan.

In fact, according to the IMDB, Shinderera is the title of the film in Japan.

Mirror Celeb have contacted Lily's reps for comment.

The Cinderella star has dismissed claims her waist appears unnaturally slim in the new film, saying speculation is "irrelevant".

The 25-year-old star reportedly had to go on a liquid diet to fit in to the tight-fitting corset for the role - but she has dismissed claims her waist is too small.

Questioned over criticisms of the waistline at a press conference ahead of the film's UK premiere, Lily said: "Why on earth are we focusing on something so irrelevant?"

Sandy Powell, the film's costume designer, told reporters at London's Claridges Hotel that she does not understand all the fuss about Cinderella's waist.

She said: "I don't understand what the concerns are actually.

(Image: WireImage)

"Lily does have a small waist, but then so do all the other girls in the film, all the girls in the film wear corsets because that's what you wear with period clothes - it creates the silhouettes."

She added: "Lily's dress in particular is an optical illusion, I have to say. The diameter of the skirt is about two metres and it has the width and that really does make the waist smaller than it actually is."

The film's producer Allison Shearmur also stepped in to rebuff accusations it gave an unrealistic portrayal of a woman's body.

The American said: "I'm a mum and I'm one of the producers of the film, and I think it's gotten a lot of attention, but the funny thing is it's kind of paying attention to the opposite of the theme of the movie - which is your sense of beauty and your strength is what's on the inside.

(Image: Disney)

"Sandy is right, I was there for all the early fittings - I would look like I had a two inch waist. There is giant set of shoulders and butterflies and it was customary for women to be corseted at the time.

"Not only is it an optical illusion but I think it is interesting that the conversation has been about the outside, because this is a movie where the real emphasis is on the inside.

"My 12 year-old daughter thought the dress was really pretty, but what she took away from the film was the priority of courage and kindness."

Disney previously denied the claims too.

According to Buzzfeed, a source from Disney said: "Lily's waist hasn't been altered (in the film or in any stills/marketing materials) – she's wearing a corset."

A rep for James also told Buzzfeed that the look was achieved by a corset, and while a corset expert also said the waist shown is attainable it "doesn't mean that it wasn't helped" in post-production.