Designer Marc Jacobs has spoken out about the controversial nude selfie he accidentally shared with his 191,000 Instagram followers on Monday night, revealing that the risque image of his bare buttocks and penis was actually intended for someone he had met through the social media site.

In a comment posted in response to one of his followers, the 52-year-old defended the social media snafu, noting that he didn't see what the 'big deal' was.

'Yeah. I accidentally posted a pic of my bare a** and took it down,' he wrote about the image, which was captioned 'It's yours to try!', in a comment to fellow Instagram user @maraj126.

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Covered up: Marc Jacobs (pictured) accidentally shared a nude selfie of himself with his 191,000 Instagram followers on Monday night

'I was flirting with someone I met on Instagram. Meant to send it by DM. Oops, my mistake. I apologize to anyone it offended,' he added.

'I'm a gay man. I flirt and chat with guys online sometimes. BIG DEAL!'

Although Mr Jacobs deleted the image, which he appears to have taken using a mirror in a closet, within minutes, a number of his beady-eyed followers grabbed it from his page and began sharing it across their own social media sites.

The image did not feature Mr Jacobs' face, just his naked torso, however his most dedicated fans were easily to identify the distinctive tattoos on his arm, as well as the signature gold ring he wears in the majority of his other images.

The photo also showed Mr Jacobs' underwear pulled down past his thighs as he posed in the mirror, with his wardrobe and shopping bags serving as the backdrop.

Up close and personal: The 52-year-old's buttocks and penis could be seen in the image, which was captioned: 'It's yours to try!' before he deleted the snapshot

Big deal! Mr Jacobs took to Instagram to comment on the controversy surrounding the nude image, noting that he was sorry for any 'offense' the picture may have caused

And despite only being posted for a short time, it even managed to score eight likes, presumably to Mr Jacob's chagrin.

The designer quickly became the butt of a few jokes on Twitter, with one person writing: 'When Seniors Drunk Tweet... [sic]'

Another added: 'Does this mean Marc uses Instagram to flirt with his followers PLEASE let me live this daydream [sic].'

But despite the controversy surrounding the tweet however, Mr Jacobs has been able to make light of the situation, and even posted a tweet from his official Twitter account on Wednesday which read: 'It's yours to try,' the same wording as the caption of the now-infamous nude selfie.

Just minutes after deleting the nude image from his account, Mr Jacobs also shared with his followers two new images from his latest star-studded fashion campaign - no doubt in an attempt to draw attention away from the embarrassing slip-up.

Posting an image of his dear friend, director Sofia Coppola, 44, posing for the new fall/winter 2015 campaign, he wrote: 'This next photo I am "leaking" is (along with Chers portrait) one of my very favorites from this "album" photographed by David Sims of our Fall/Winter collections.'

Making light: The designer has managed to enjoy a few jokes about the social media snafu, and even posted a tweet of the caption to his Twitter account on Wednesday

Intended surprise: Shortly after deleting the now-infamous selfie, Mr Jacobs shared two new images from his upcoming fall/winter campaign, one of which featured Blurred Lines star Emily Ratajkowski (pictured)

Close friends: The other image he shared from the new campaign starred his close friend, director Sophia Coppola

He also shared a second image from the ad series, this time of Blurred Lines video star-turned-actress Emily Ratajkowski, 24.

In the image caption, the designer paid tribute to the star, commenting: 'I lucked out the day Katie Grand introduced me to the sweet, friendly, energetic and talented (oh, did I mention sexy in that I TOTALLY GET IT sexy way)....Emily Ratajkowski.

'As a sports illustrated swim suit model, as an actor in GONE GIRL and an all around sweet, fun and friendly woman- thank you for bringing your brand of red hot sex appeal and glamour to this David Sims portrait from our Fall/Winter campaign. [sic]'

Mr Jacobs should also get some solace in knowing that he isn't the first - and certainly not the last - person who this has happened to.

In 2012, both Newsroom actress Allison Pill and 90210 star AnnaLynne McCord accidentally posted topless photos of themselves on Twitter.

And two years later, Real Housewives of Orange County star Vicki Gunvalson captured her nude reflection in one of her Instagram posts.