Katherine Heigl apologises for 'inappropriate' cemetery photos amid fan outcry

Katherine Heigl has apologised to her fans after posting a series of controversial Instagram photos while visiting her relatives at a cemetery in Buffalo, New York.

In the now-deleted pics, originally posted on Sunday, the 27 Dresses star took fans along for the somber visit. She shared a photo of herself posed alongside the headstone of her late older brother, Jason, who died tragically at age 16 from injuries sustained in a car accident in 1986.

She also shared a photo commemorating her grandparents Reinhold and Margaretta Engelhardt.

But some fans took umbrage with another set of photos. The 39-year-old actress snapped a selfie with an angel statue along with the caption, "I also managed to get in a little gossip with the girls."

Another photo featured her husband, singer-songwriter Josh Kelly, 38, sitting next to a grave that coincidentally had his last name on it.

Heigl captioned this snap: "[He] found his own grave…which was weird."

On June 25, the actress spoke out after she saw fans expressing concern in the comments section over the photos. Spurred to action, she deleted the pics and apologised in two videos. She explained her intention was "to make a hard moment lighthearted."

"It's kind of a heavy thing to go and visit my loved ones' graves, and I decided to find some moments of levity and humor and didn't realise how inappropriate I was being," she said.

"I deeply apologise and I thank you guys for understanding that sometimes I don't think things through clearly enough and I am grateful for your input and for giving me a heads up when I'm maybe going too far. And thank you for forgiving me. Next time I will be more thoughtful about other people's feelings and not just my own."

Outside the apparent controversy, Heigl is gearing up to appear in Season 8 of Suits.