Jessica Simpson has been hit with a lawsuit from a Louisiana couple who allege the pop star used its child to sell magazines and gain publicity following a 2011 meet and greet.

Christopher Hurst and Tracy Gregory claim the Irresistible hitmaker posed for a picture with their son during a Metairie shopping event in October, 2011 and later allowed journalists at Ok! magazine to pass off the image as the first photo of her own baby in an April, 2012 cover story, which featured a snap of the two alongside the caption: My First Days as a New Mom.

The parents allege they never signed a release form allowing a photo of their son to be used and are now taking legal action against Simpson, who was still pregnant with daughter Maxwell at the time, editors at the publication and photographers at Getty Images for invasion of privacy and emotional distress. They are seeking a maximum of $75,000 (£48,387) in damages.

The documents were filed at the 24th Judicial District Court in Gretna, Louisiana in April (13) and Hurst's attorney, Michael North, says, "The photographer did not identify himself or ask Hurst's permission to take or disseminate any photographs of... (the child)... Ok! magazine paid him nothing, despite clear intention to mislead some or all of the consuming public into believing the photograph on the cover of the subject issue was actually Simpson's first child."