Vin Diesel responds to body-shamers with chiselled abs photo on Instagram

American actor and filmmaker Vin Diesel responded to negative comments about his body weight on social media. Various media outlets including Daily Mail and Us Weekly had published photos of the 48-year-old actor in Miami, looking considerably heavier.

The Fast And Furious star took to his Instagram account to slam body-shamers. Diesel posted a photo of him in a black shirt showing off his toned physique. He captioned the image: "It is amazing the response from the journalists who I have been talking to for the last two days in New York. Today one wanted to see the dad bod. Haha. I am wondering if I should show the picture... Body-shaming is always wrong! What do you think? #LastWitchHunter."

Later, he shared a picture of himself pulling his shirt up to reveal his six-pack abs. He wrote: "The pic from yesterday... For those who wanted the show... For all the angels that love dad bod regardless... I will post an exclusive video on my Facebook when I am done with press today. #LastWitchHunter#HappyCreative."

Meanwhile, Diesel admitted that he struggles over the loss of his close friend and Furious co-star Paul Walker. During an interview with The Associated Press, Diesel revealed that the tragic loss of Walker helped him get his role in the upcoming film The Last Witch Hunter.

Walker died on 30 November 2013, while returning from a charity event when a Porsche driven by his friend Roger Rodas spun out of control and smashed into a tree before bursting into flames.

He said: "Death was a huge theme last year. There was something therapeutic about playing this role after going through [Walker's death]."

"The idea that someone immortal could be so melancholy. 2014 was a tough year for me in some ways – a lot of ways," he added. "Playing a character that was masking his sorrow — his loss — was very appropriate for the time, because that's what I was doing in real-life with the post-'Furious 7'."