A photograph appearing to show an emaciated Steve Jobs surfaced on celebrity website TMZ, which said the picture was taken on Friday, two days after he resigned as Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) CEO.

The photograph on TMZ.com showed Jobs clad in a black knee-length gown, supported by an unidentified man beside a car in a sunny, unknown locale.

Photos of the Silicon Valley legend, who on Wednesday dropped a bombshell on Wall Street and Apple fans when he passed the CEO reins over to right-hand man Tim Cook, have surfaced on various tabloids this year.

The health of the pancreatic cancer survivor has been a constant source of speculation.

TMZ's photo, credited to Pacific Coast News, ignited a firestorm of indignation on Twitter.

Leave Steve alone @TMZ. You guys are low as you can go. This is what's called 'journalism' these days. Seriously disgusted, brian-tong tweeted.

TMZ declined to comment. Celebrity photo website Pacific Coast News said it had snapped the photograph and then sold it exclusively to TMZ. Apple declined to comment. (Editing by Gary Hill) (la.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; (+1 213 955 6750))

Steve jobs Twitter Journalism Cancer