Renee Zellweger trolled by the media over those red carpet photographs?

Renee Zellweger started trending on Twitter after pictures of the star were published showing her on the red carpet for Elle magazine's 2014 Women in Hollywood event in LA.

She has been described as "unrecognisable" in the photographs.

Her image has undeniably changed and Renee has told People magazine she's "glad folks think" she looks different.

But with publications sharing "before and after" images, hashtags and jokes about her looks, has she been trolled?

"It seems the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn't exist won't get off my porch until I answer the door," she said in her statement, calling the media hype "silly".

According to Bullies Out, trolling is a form of online "baiting" which "involves sending abusive and hurtful comments" on social media.

The charity seeks to provide education, support and advice about bullying, especially to schools and youth communities.

"It incites people to make comments to people that elicit further comments such as 'go away and die' or 'you are so disgusting'," they add.

According to that definition, some of the posts shared on social media by media organisations, not just individual Twitter users, could be seen as a type of trolling.

Responses to Yahoo Celebrity UK's tweet included the hashtags #creepy and #scary as well as "shocked" emojis.

One poster added: "She looks like a wax work figure!!! #Creepy #MadameTussaudsCalledTheyWantYouBack"

However, MSN Entertainment's tweet only got one direct reply, which read: "Would you like it if someone tweeted pictures of you with derogatory comments? You should be ashamed."

People seemed mainly confused by the chair image tweeted by the Independent, which linked to an article showing various things that were not Renee Zellweger, such as Carlton Banks from 1990s US sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Buzzfeed responded soon after the star started trending online, by sharing before and after photos.

"This is what Renee Zellweger looks like now," it said. "And Twitter's got a lot to say about it."

Its post on Facebook got a variety of comments, some of them positive.

"She doesn't look bad, just completely different. How strange," said one user.

Another added: "She doesn't look bad... she just doesn't look like herself."

However, other users did make jokes and unkind comments about the photographs and her appearance now.

Buzzfeed's second post on the topic talked about "plastic surgery shaming" and that Hollywood's treatment of older women is to blame for Renee's "ridicule" online and in the press.

Meanwhile, the Guardian claimed there was "nothing wrong with Renee Zellweger's face" and said the problem was with "the media gatekeepers - including many women - [who] were aghast at the appearance of Zellweger's face".

"From fashion blogs to CNN, the horror and disgust was palpable," the author of the piece, Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy, said.

You might argue that celebrities, in putting themselves in the public eye, invite these kinds of comments and therefore cannot really be trolled.

However, high-profile figures as varied as Richard Bacon, Lord Sugar, Tom Daley, MP Stella Creasy and Stephen Fry have all spoken out about being subjected to abuse.

In cases where these comments were threatening, the police and courts have become involved.

Bullies Out says: "The messages are meant to cause the most distress they can and no consideration is given to the victims by the people who troll online."

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