A mother who sparked outrage after posting an image online of her son dressed in blackface, purportedly to resemble AFL star Nic Naitanui, says she didn't know what blackface was.

Jasmyn painted her nine-year-old son’s face black in an attempt to emulate his hero for a school parade last week, posting the image to popular blogger Constance Hall’s Facebook page to share her "parenting win".

She told 9NEWS she has received a tirade of online abuse including death threats since the post went viral, and is too afraid to leave her home.

"I didn’t think it was going to cause a race war," she said.

"It’s mental, I’ve never experienced anything like this. It’s been horrible.

"I thought it shows that he (her son) embraces other nationalities, I didn't think it would be called blackface... I didn't even know what blackface was until yesterday."

West Coast Eagles star Naitanui called for better education in response to the post, taking to Twitter to say the image "hurts my heart".

He asked that she "reflect" on her actions and choose "an alternate method next time".

"It’s a shame racism co-exists in an environment where our children should be nurtured, not tortured because they are unaware of the painful historical significance ‘blackface’ has had previously on the oppressed," he wrote.

In the original post, which has since been deleted, Jasmyn said she was "a little worried" when deciding to paint her son's face, but decided to "grow a set of balls" to "paint my son brown".

"So many politically correct extremists these days," she wrote.

"He is pastey White (sic) and if I just sent him in a wig and footy gear, no one would tell who he was."

"You are clearly not a racist woman, your child has an amazing idol and that must be a reflection of being raised in a home with no racist intentions," she wrote later.

Despite the original post having been deleted, screenshots have circulated with many condemning the mother's actions.

Indigenous rapper Briggs said it was blatantly racist and the mother's "ignorance is not an alibi".

"This was such an obviously reckless, racist thing to do — I thought it was a set up," he said, adding that the mother "should've stopped at the jumper and wig".