AceShowbiz -

Billboard received social media backlash on Thursday, October 30 after posting a crude tweet sexualizing Kim Kardashian's daughter North West. The site posted on Twitter a link to an article about North telling paparazzi "no pictures" along with caption, "The apple doesn't fall far from the three."

The tweet was accompanied by a photo of North licking a lollipop while being carried by Kim. While the article itself was about North taking after her father Kanye West, many social media users interpreted it as a reference to North being on the same sexualized path as her mom, who shot to fame after the release of her infamous sex tape.

Following the backlash, Billboard quickly deleted the tweet and replaced the caption with "North West is already pretty sassy (but in a cute way)." The site also posted the following apology, "We apologize for the tweet involving North West. The caption was about her comments to paparazzi. The suggestion some see was not intended."

A Twitter user responded to Billboard's apology by posting a screencapture of the original tweet about North along with caption, "@billboard why lie? You intentionally did this."

@billboard why lie? You intentionally did this pic.twitter.com/7M8i09xtSe

— Kimberly Hollyfield (@keem4145) October 30, 2015