Made In Chelsea's James Taylor has sparked an online backlash after claiming that he sold off a free PlayStation 5.

The console launched worldwide earlier this month, with a huge level of demand leading to significant stock shortages and units being resold on sites such as eBay for astronomical prices.

In a now-deleted post on Instagram, Taylor shared pictures of a PS5 alongside the hashtag "#gifted" and the message "Back to the PS4 I go :) Didn't like the PS5 so I sold it for a £1200 profit"

The comments sparked outrage from users on the gaming forum ResetEra, with one branding him "a massive douchebag" and another remarking: "What a prick."

In a statement to Metro, the 25-year-old insisted that his posts were merely designed to 'take the piss out of the current influencer market'.

"The PlayStation 5 was a friend's. I did not sell the PlayStation 5 'for a profit' as I never 'sold' anything. I currently have a PlayStation 4 and I am very content with it," he said.

"The amount of trolling I have received is quite hilarious as the people that I have message are extremely tunnelled-visioned and believe whatever they see on social media."

Taylor has been part of the E4 reality series since 2018.