Instagram issues apology after censoring Penélope Cruz's new movie poster

Instagram has apologised after they removed the official poster for Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's new film starring Penélope Cruz.

The social media platform censored the poster for Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers) because it displayed a lactating female nipple. Watch the trailer above.

A spokesperson for Facebook — Instagram's parent company — issued a formal apology over the decision. "We initially removed several instances of this image for breaking our rules against nudity," the statement began.

"We do, however, make exceptions to allow nudity in certain circumstances, which includes when there's clear artistic context. We've therefore restored posts sharing the Almodóvar movie poster to Instagram, and we're really sorry for any confusion caused," the company said in an emailed statement.

Jaén called out the platform for its policies in an earlier post, writing, "As expected, @instagram took down the poster that we made for the latest Almodóvar film #madresparalelas."

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Instagram has previously faced criticism for its strict policies against nudity.

The platform's current guidelines prohibit nipples being shown unless they are shown "in the context of breastfeeding, birth-giving and after-birth moments, health-related situations (for example post-mastectomy, breast cancer awareness or gender confirmation surgery) or an act of protest".

Madres Paralelas will debut at Venice Film Festival on September 1.