Retailer John Lewis has taken to social media to defend its actions following its latest Home Insurance advert.

The commercial sees a young boy dressed in his mother’s make-up, dress, jewellery and heels, gallivanting around the house while Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Seventeen plays.

However, the advert wasn't received well by everyone and many took to Twitter to complain.

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The young actor smears paint on the walls, kicks shoes at lamps, throws an umbrella at a vase, spills a glass and throws glitter into the air.

This situation will be recognisable to many parents but others were extremely critical of the ad, saying it encouraged ‘male entitlement’ and ‘gender extremism’.

John Lewis wrote on Twitter: "At John Lewis, we believe in children having fun and that's why we chose this playful storyline for our latest advert.

"It's designed to show the young actor getting carried away with his dramatic performance.

"He is not wilfully damaging his home and is unaware of the unintentional consequences of his actions."

They went on to say: "If customers had Accidental Damage Cover with our Home Insurance, this would cover a range of major and minor home disasters - including unintentional breakages caused by children in the family."