Social media has gone into overdrive following an accidental post on Facebook that has caused much merriment.

The post was a tribute to a recently departed 99-year-old piano teacher called Olivia Hunt. The picture that accompanied it, however, appeared to be Christian Bale in a film still, possibly from American Psycho, in which he is seen naked from the waist up with a woman's legs and high heels draped over his shoulders.

The person who posted this wrote: I am deeply saddened by the passing of my late childhood piano teacher, Olivia Hunt, who left the world peacefully this morning at the ripe age of 99. She was an extraordinary woman who touched many lives through her love and dedication to music."

The person who has posted this had added an edit saying that they are aware that the picture is incorrect, but are unable to change it. "EDIT – You can stop messaging me. I am aware that I have used the wrong image for the post. I am unfortunately unable to change it because i am locked out of that feature for some reason."

The picture and words are now doing the rounds on X, formerly known as Twitter. The person has asked on X for help – "If you can seriously help with my account please contact me" – but Katie Herzog, who spread the post playfully suggested "nobody help him" - she is assuming it is a him unless she knows more than she is letting on. It is not clear why they do not have the feature to edit the picture or why they have not simply deleted the post in its entirety.

While there is some scepticism over whether the post is a genuine accident, people on social media are loving it.

Comedian Mark Nelson reposted it and simply added: "Incredible."