Lily Allen has sparked outrage after claiming that women on TV deserve higher wages than men because their 'shelf life' is shorter and more like that of a footballer.

The controversial singer was responding to a Twitter thread by BBC Newsnight presenter Evan Davis, who said he thinks equal pay doesn't 'make sense' in showbiz because a junior actor should get paid less than a senior actor.

His thread came the day after BBC's China Editor Carrie Gracie quit over the pay disparity between her salary and the salary of other male international editors at the broadcaster.

Allen replied with: 'Women working on screen sadly have a shelf life not dissimilar to that of a premiership footballers (happy to be proven wrong) till that changes, their pay should reflect that.

Lily Allen, pictured in March 2017, sparked outrage today after claiming women in showbiz should be paid more than men because they have a shorter 'shelf life'

The controversial singer argued that women have a shelf life like a premiership footballer. One of her followers called her 'bonkers' for the claim

'They should get more than their male counterparts, or men should get less than them, rather.'

Allen's claim angered plenty of her followers, with one saying: 'Lily, please get some help.'

Another called her 'bonkers', but admitted she had a point.

Some of her Twitter followers jumped to her defence, with one saying: 'Think of all the male actors over 50 you can name. Now think of all the female actors over 50 you can name.

One of her followers agreed with her, but said: 'If only pay were dependent upon what people deserve and not what the employer can get away with paying in a competitive market'

Allen was responding to a thread by BBC Newsnight presenter Evan Davis on the wage gap, the day after the BBC's China Editor Carrie Gracie quit saying her pay was unequal

'The point being that women have a shelf life based upon looks, a woman is considered *very* lucky to get on screen work much past 50, men are called silver foxes.'

Another agreed with Allen but said: 'If only pay were dependent upon what people deserve and not what the employer can get away with paying in a competitive market. Also, Hollywood pay injustice is low on the list of important injustices in the world today.'

Just yesterday Allen angered social media followers by claiming Rochdale grooming victims would have been 'raped or abused by somebody else at some point'.

After a huge backlash to her tweet, Allen apologised, saying: 'If there are any victims of abuse and particularly any girls or women from Rochdale who saw my tweet and were negatively impacted, I apologize, of course.

'Being able to accept responsibility and apologize is a strength, not a weakness.'

Another Twitter follower jumped to her defence saying: 'Think of all the male actors over 50 you can name. Now think of all the female actors over 50 you can name'