At the age of 55, Russell Crowe is widely considered Hollywood royalty. The actor has won the hearts of legions of fans following his portrayals of characters like Maximus Decimus Meridius, Robin Hood, Inspector Javert, John Forbes Nash Jr., and Noah.

In fact, it was his captivating role in 2000's Gladiator that earned the Australian actor his first and only Oscar, as he cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats and delivered one of the most badass monologues in movie history: "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius..."

Crowe doesn't have anything left to prove, which is why a recent article posted by PageSix has drawn the ire of many of his fans.

Publishing recent pictures of the actor taken at Sydney airport in Australia on Thursday, show the star with his assistant. However, several times throughout the article, many jibes are made towards Crowe's apparent weight gain.

The article opens with the line, "Gone are Russell Crowe‘s 'Gladiator' days", and then proceeds to describe the star looking "a tad worse for wear". The pictures show Crowe in a dark blue polo shirt, black track pants, and sporting a long beard.

However, several Twitter users have hit out at the publication for publishing the images.

Twitter user Brian Reynolds replied to the post, saying: "Don't body shame men unless you are willing to body shame women. [...] Total double standard."

And a Twitter user by the name of Karen typed: "Trashy to post this picture and try to shame him. Everyone ages FFS. There’s bigger issues in the world that folks should be concerned about."

Whereas several users stood by Crowe for his appearance, complimenting the actor on his new physique:

Glenn Garner commented: "Idk why they didn't make this the lead image. He's lookin thicc af and I'm down.#daddy [sic]"

Twitter handle @Brendelbored commented: "Looks better than ever, not sure what the issue here is"

And a Twitter user by the name of Bertrand Russell Terrier commented: "This is the ideal male body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like."

Despite the fact PageSix were unable to retrieve a comment from Crowe's management and they also could not confirm whether or not the actor's weight gain was for an upcoming movie role, @ThePocketJacks tweeted: "Besides training for a Guillermo Del Torro biopic who cares? He’ll get paid millions for another role and drop the weight with supplements and trainers."

This isn't the first time PageSix faced backlash this week, as many Matthew Perry fans hit out against the publications after showing pictures of the 'Friends' star looking "disheveled".

At the age of 55, Russell Crowe is widely considered Hollywood royalty. The actor has won the hearts of legions of fans following his portrayals of characters like Maximus Decimus Meridius, Robin Hood, Inspector Javert, John Forbes Nash Jr., and Noah.

In fact, it was his captivating role in 2000's Gladiator that earned the Australian actor his first and only Oscar, as he cemented his legacy as one of the all-time greats and delivered one of the most badass monologues in movie history: "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius..."

Crowe doesn't have anything left to prove, which is why a recent article posted by PageSix has drawn the ire of many of his fans.

Publishing recent pictures of the actor taken at Sydney airport in Australia on Thursday, show the star with his assistant. However, several times throughout the article, many jibes are made towards Crowe's apparent weight gain.

The article opens with the line, "Gone are Russell Crowe‘s 'Gladiator' days", and then proceeds to describe the star looking "a tad worse for wear". The pictures show Crowe in a dark blue polo shirt, black track pants, and sporting a long beard.

However, several Twitter users have hit out at the publication for publishing the images.

Twitter user Brian Reynolds replied to the post, saying: "Don't body shame men unless you are willing to body shame women. [...] Total double standard."

And a Twitter user by the name of Karen typed: "Trashy to post this picture and try to shame him. Everyone ages FFS. There’s bigger issues in the world that folks should be concerned about."

Whereas several users stood by Crowe for his appearance, complimenting the actor on his new physique:

Glenn Garner commented: "Idk why they didn't make this the lead image. He's lookin thicc af and I'm down.#daddy [sic]"

Twitter handle @Brendelbored commented: "Looks better than ever, not sure what the issue here is"

And a Twitter user by the name of Bertrand Russell Terrier commented: "This is the ideal male body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like."

Despite the fact PageSix were unable to retrieve a comment from Crowe's management and they also could not confirm whether or not the actor's weight gain was for an upcoming movie role, @ThePocketJacks tweeted: "Besides training for a Guillermo Del Torro biopic who cares? He’ll get paid millions for another role and drop the weight with supplements and trainers."

This isn't the first time PageSix faced backlash this week, as many Matthew Perry fans hit out against the publications after showing pictures of the 'Friends' star looking "disheveled".