Amy Schumer sends powerful body image message with 'beautiful, thin, fat, ugly' topless Pirelli 2016 calendar portrait

'I felt I looked more beautiful than I ever felt in my life'

Amy Schumer moved between the positive and negative labels usually found underneath any photo of a woman in the public eye to share her Pirelli calendar 2016 portrait.

Anticipating responses from social media users, Schumer captioned the photo: “Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman,” sending an important message about body image and self-acceptance.

The un-retouched image shows Schumer wearing just underwear and stiletto heels while drinking a cup of coffee. The candid and unretouched image has generated the most discussion from this year's shoot.

In the video promo for the calender, the 34-year-old said: “I felt I looked more beautiful than I ever felt in my life. And I felt it looked like me.”

The majority of followers on Twitter were quick to praise Schumer for her “empowering” image.

Annie Leibovitz, the esteemed photographer who shot the images in her New York studio, told a press conference on Monday she initially was worried about Schumer and asked if she would feel self-conscious during the shoot.

But there was no need for her to worry as Schumer, who reportedly volunteered to be topless, responded: “Are you kidding, I love my body?”

Leibovitz said: “I’m a great admirer of comediennes. The Amy Schumer portrait added some fun. It’s as if she didn’t get the memo saying that she could keep her clothes on.”

The much anticipated Pirelli Calendar, commonly known as ‘The Cal’, has seen a departure from its usual list of models such as Kate Moss, Gigi Hadid and Adriana Lima for 2016.

This year, 'The Cal' included Serena Williams, Tavi Gevinson and Yoko Ono among their "women of achievement".