Emily Atack faced criticism after publicly backing a campaign by schoolgirls seeking to prevent school uniforms from appearing in pornography.
The actress, known for The Inbetweeners and the Disney+ drama Rivals, posted a BBC News report about the campaign to her 1.8 million Instagram followers.
Teenagers from The Cooper School in Bicester are seeking changes to the Crime and Policing Act.
They want the government to close a provision that permits actors aged over 16 to appear in adult films while wearing school uniforms.
The campaign was prompted by government restrictions on pornography, including a ban on possessing or publishing material that depicts strangulation or suffocation, sex involving relatives or people pretending to be related, and situations in which an adult roleplays as a child under 16.
A Change.org petition arguing that the restrictions do not go far enough has received more than 45,000 signatures.
It maintains that pupils can still wear uniforms in pornographic material once they reach the age of 16.
Support for the petition prompted a backlash against Atack, particularly in light of her portrayal of Charlotte Hinchcliffe in the E4 series The Inbetweeners.
Some critics linked their objections to her previous work for FHM and men’s magazines, arguing that her involvement in campaigns against the sexualisation of schoolgirls was inconsistent with her earlier career.
Other critics questioned the suitability of an actress associated with a comedy that frequently included explicit sexual references to promoting a campaign centred on pornography.
They also suggested that adults who played teenagers in The Inbetweeners were engaged in a similar form of fantasy to the performers targeted by the petition.
The criticism was also interpreted as an attempt by Atack to remain relevant by associating herself with popular causes.
Others rejected that interpretation and said that her experience of portraying a schoolgirl made her particularly informed about the issue.
Suggestions were also made that messages she had received from men attracted by her school-uniform appearance may have influenced her position.
Atack addressed the sexualisation of schoolgirls in the 2023 BBC documentary Emily Atack: Asking for It?
During the programme, she met girls who had been sent explicit images by men.
She subsequently said that those girls felt more exposed while wearing their uniforms because they encountered men online who were unable to control their language towards them.
The campaign was launched by members of the Little Feminist Bookclub, a group based at The Cooper School in Bicester.
Its petition calls for school uniforms to be prohibited in pornographic content and has attracted more than 45,000 signatures.