Scout Willis topless Instagram protest: Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's daughter opposes female nudity policy

The 22-year-old actress used the hashtag #FreeTheNipple to highlight her plight against disproportionate censorship rulings

Scout Willis was banned from Instagram for posting a photograph of a sweatshirt she designed featuring two topless women.

"@instagram there is no way 2 contact you directly, I would really appreciate response b/c you took a lot of memories from me b/c u h8 nips," she tweeted at the social site, demanding they reinstate her suspended account.

"Can I please just have all my photos back???" she later added, conceding to the short-term ban. "I won't even have an account anymore I just want my photos!"

She posted again a few hours later to announce her decision to boycott the site, and start a fresh, anonymous account as "an experiment".

"Only beautiful artistic nudes," she wrote. "And let's see how long till I get kicked off."

Little did Instagram expect the protest she was about to stage next, however.

The 22-year-old actress, who is the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, went on a topless jaunt around New York City to highlight her disagreement with policies against female nudity.

In one photograph, she is seen shopping for fresh flowers at a market stall entirely bare chested, while in another, she strolls down a Manhattan street wearing nothing but a floral skirt and a pair of tan pumps.

"Legal in NYC but not on @instagram," she captioned one, using the hashtage "#FreeTheNipple".

"What @instagram won't let you see," another was captioned.

She went on to lament Instagram’s seemingly disproportionate rulings on acceptable nudity. At the moment, the image sharing site prohibits all breast exposure – even those posted by breast cancer patients and breast feeding mothers.

"@instagram pictures of breast cancer survivors have been flagged+deleted but this is super #sick and #hot amiright???” she wrote alongside a photograph of billionaire playboy Dan Bilzerian’s account, which is littered with shots of scantily clad glamour models.

Her topless shots were, by and large, well-received and supported. But she did face a small backlash from her followers. "My comfort with my body should not be dictated by how others perceive me," she wrote in response. "However, I don't wish to force this view on anyone."

She also received some criticism after she changed her profile picture to that of Rihanna's topless magazine cover. The singer had her account suspended when she posted her semi-nude appearance on the French publication Lui.

"'@Itz_Nandini: @scout_willis ur profile picture is disgusting' no it's not, it's a celebration of the female body," she replied to one critic.

Instragam later responded, telling Willis it was "happy to reinstate" her account "without the images that don't meet our policies".

"They gave it back, but I don't want it....." she tweeted again in protest.

Willis' news comes a week after reports a Canadian mother had been banned for posting an image of her breastfeeding her child.

Grace Coddington, US Vogue creative director and former model, was also temporarily banned from Instagram last week after posting a topless line drawn cartoon of herself reclining in a chair.