Mischa Barton apologises for controversial Instagram post

Mischa Barton has apologised for causing offence by posting a bikini photograph on Instagram besides a message condemning police brutality.

The former The O.C. star wrote a post on Thursday (07Jul16) criticising police brutality and calling for tougher gun control laws following the death of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed by police officers in Louisiana on Tuesday (05Jul16).

However, she sparked outrage by teaming her caption with a picture of her posing on a yacht in a bikini. One user commented, "This isn't about you. Change the pic if you want people to take your expressed sentiment seriously."

Mischa removed the photo, and issued an apology on Twitter on Friday (08Jul16). She wrote, "I'm human I'm not perfect and I'm sorry if my Instagram post went out of context I didn't mean to offend anyone."

She also posted a "Justice for #AltonSterling" picture followed by a heartbroken emoji and added, "If you are not angry ... You are not paying attention."

Mischa also reacted to the shooting of police officers in Dallas, Texas on Thursday night. Five were killed by snipers at a Black Lives Matter protest.

"My heart goes out to the families of the innocent police officers who were shot in the line of duty... #PrayForDallas," she tweeted. "Humanity is slipping through our fingers. Pray for the victims. Pray for our country. Pray for the world. #PrayForDallas."

She joins a host of celebrities, including John Legend, Demi Lovato, and Olivia Wilde, who took to social media to express their sadness at the latest shooting.

In her now-deleted Instagram message, she wrote, "I'm truly heart broken to watch videos like the #altonsterling execution. This may have been going on forever in the United States but thank god the pigs get caught on camera now (sic).

"Its (sic) unthinkable and an embarrassment to America. The country I was brought up in. Somebody make change. We need gun control and unity. And a real President so think about that when this election is around the corner. The world is a precarious place right now."