It was an apparent reference to a video broadcast made by the 48-year-old recently in response to widespread criticism of her outfit choices during her visit to Africa.
In defence of her controversial clothing — including a white pith helmet, which has links to Africa's colonisers — Mrs Trump said: "I want to talk about my trip and not what I wear.
"That's very important what we do, what we're doing with US aid, what I do with my initiatives.
"I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear."
However, Twitter users from both sides of the political spectrum were quick to accuse Meloni of "sexism" and brand his posts as "tone-deaf".
Many argued it was unfair to attempt to "slut-shame" Mrs Trump over her previous career, while others saw it as "disrespectful" to models, women and sex workers.
And many pointed out that her former job had "nothing to do" with her current role as First Lady and that any criticism of Mrs Trump should focus on her actions and not her past.
One person wrote: "This is really sexist. She was a model, she was working at her job as a model and this was her job to be photographed this way. It's really, really uncool to show the photos of her working as though it were an expression of her true self."
"Take it down! You're not doing yourself any favours by exploiting women this way … Creepy Weinstein kind of move Chris!" another posted.
However, Meloni stuck by his posts despite the outrage and in the face of countless calls for him to delete them.
In a follow-up tweet, he asked: "Why take it down? Help me to understand."
And in another, he argued that "it seems to be the nudity that people got hung up with" and not the underlying message.
Meloni did have some support on social media, with several people finding his posts "funny" and others claiming conservatives would have been relentless in their attacks if former First Lady Michelle Obama had posed for similar risqué photos in the past.
And others argued it was valid to criticise Mrs Trump, as she had done little to earn the public's respect during her husband Donald Trump's presidency.
"If she was actually doing SOMETHING we wouldn't be forced to focus on what she wears," one Twitter user posted, while another wrote: "She doesn't really do anything."
Chris Meloni, 57, is a well-known actor best known for his roles as NYPD detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz.
The father-of-two is active on Twitter, regularly sharing political posts with anti-Republican and anti-Trump themes.
