Actress Hilary Duff has gone on a controversial Instagram rampage, naming and shaming her “a–hole” neighbour for his “disrespectful” habits in full view of her 9.2 million followers.

Duff, 30, took to social media to issue a plea to her fellow New Yorkers for advice on how to deal with a difficult neighbour in her exclusive Soho apartment building.

“Calling all New Yorkers with a–hole neighbours. Really open to any advice you have,” Duff said in an Instagram video on Thursday (Wednesday US time).

“My neighbour smokes cigarettes and weed all night long. My apartment reeks. Seriously, what do I do?”

Duff then took things a step further by locating her neighbour on Instagram and sharing his profile picture and full name with the caption, “found youuuu”.

Duff identified the man as Dieter Addison, the grandson of wealthy German-born beer importer H Dieter Holterbosch, according to Page Six.

Mr Addison denied smoking pot and told Page Six he has hired a lawyer to deal with Duff’s accusations after receiving hate mail and threats from her fans.

“I live with a sober companion. I’ve been sober for months now. I smoke a ton of cigarettes, don’t get me wrong, but this is a smoking building, which is why I signed the lease here,” Mr Addison said.

“I am getting a lot of hate mail and threats from her fans, it is so bad I’m going to have to get a bodyguard. I am from a very private German family and we are hiring lawyers.”

A sample from Hilary Duff’s angry diatribe.

Duff’s accusations against Mr Addison didn’t just pertain to his smoking habits – she also accused him of being unemployed and financially reliant on his parents.

“We know your parents pay your rent. We know you’ve never worked a day in your life. Must be nice,” she said.

“Have some respect for your neighbours who work hard to live in that building. Don’t be a d–k, dude. And put your trash down the shoot.”

But Mr Addison pointed the finger back at Duff and her boyfriend, Matthew Koma, and claimed they had caused him trouble since they moved into the building in January this year.

“When they moved in, I turned down the music right away. When she first complained about smoke, I did offer to send in my own contractors to fix the ventilation problems. But the building owners did not get back to me to give the okay for the work to be done, but I did try,” he said.

Mr Addison also denied being unemployed, telling Page Six he is employed at his family’s real estate office.

Duff, who is mother to six-year-old son Luca, finished her rant by alleging Mr Addison has loud fights with his partner.

“And another thing … stop breaking all your furniture when you fight with your girlfriend or boyfriend … it scares me and my kid. Therapy is cheaper,” she wrote in an Instagram video.

While plenty of her fans have rallied around the former child star, others have accused her of going too hard on Mr Addison.

“Shame on you for bullying that guy on social media,” one commenter wrote.

Another added: “Have you actually even tried talking to this guy and telling him how you feel? Not the mature way to handle things.”