Actor Rose McGowan has criticised advertisements for X-Men: Apocalypse which show Jennifer Lawrence’s character in a chokehold and which have been questioned by others for trivialising the issue of violence against women.

The promotional photo, used on some posters and billboards for the film, shows Apocalypse, the villain played by Oscar Isaac, choking Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence.

The image is sometimes accompanied with the tagline: “Only the strong will survive.”

I know it's a movie scene, but they're also putting it on ads. 😕 pic.twitter.com/conG7YkhNt — Carleesi Lane (@carlylane) May 11, 2016

Actor Rose McGowan shared a Facebook post criticising the posters with the comment, “Fuck this shit”.

“There is a major problem when the men and women at 20th Century Fox think casual violence against women is the way to market a film,” she elaborated in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

“There is no context in the ad, just a woman getting strangled. The fact that no one flagged this is offensive and, frankly, stupid.”

She quoted a friend’s discussion of “the brutality of that hideous X-Men poster” with his nine-year-old daughter.

“Her words: ‘Dad, why is that monster man committing violence against a woman?’ This from a 9-year-old. If she can see it, why can’t Fox?”

A representative of 20th Century Fox has been contacted for comment.

Twitter users have also drawn attention to the image, which has been sighted on billboards in Los Angeles and New York.

Exec #1: This is a great poster!

Exec #2: I agree! It's not problematic at all! pic.twitter.com/roRDiTIeml — Sasha (@ThatSashaJames) May 24, 2016

This #XMenApocalypse billboard of Oscar Isaac choking Jennifer Lawrence is a pleasant backdrop for date night. pic.twitter.com/qeF9poDi4z — Allan Shifman (@AllanShifman) May 26, 2016

why is all of the marketing for x-men apocalypse images of mystique being choked? There's a giant ass billboard by Citifield with that on it — Ron Cacace (@Rawnzilla) May 6, 2016

drove by an "X-men apocalypse" billboard. nothing better than a 30-foot-tall roadside photo of a woman being strangled — Yes Trying (@LordBritfaceIII) May 30, 2016

Just passed an X-Men Apocalypse billboard with a giant man choking a woman. Feminism! — Vertigo Shtick (@Vertigo_Shtick) May 6, 2016

Am I the only offended by that X-Men: Apocalypse billboard all over town that has J-Law being choked on it? That's ridiculous. — Destiny Jackson (@DestinyDreadful) May 6, 2016

Why is it that the main drawing point for the new X-Men movie is Apocalypse choking Mystique. Like, it was seriously on a billboard. — Paul (@PaulB0x) May 21, 2016

The extent to which the image has been used in promotional material is not known.