A CNN reporter has apologised for her story – titled "The Royal Bummer" – which poked fun at the Maori welcome for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge earlier this week.
The apology came after a New Zealander made an official complaint.
CNN reporter Jeanne Moos is well known for her satirical take on news stories, but her wrap of the royals' New Zealand welcome has backfired here.
In her report, she called the powhiri a "royal bummer" and mocked Maori tradition.
"Technically the only one bumming was the warrior with his decorated buns exposed," she said. "Is that anyway to welcome the future king and queen?"
Ms Moos then ridiculed the haka that welcomed the wife of former US president George Bush to a New Zealand contingent serving in Afghanistan.
"Slapping and thrusting, it was a welcome we described at the time as a cross between a Chippendale lap dance and the mating dance of the emu," she said.
Ms Moos said she wasn't the only one who saw the humour in the situation, but some in this country didn't see the funny side.
"This sort of bigotry and uneducated satire is not welcome in the progressive society that we have here," says petition organiser Jayden Evett.
The petition started yesterday, calling for CNN to apologise, already has more than 10,000 signatures.
Ms Moos has apologised for the tone of the story, saying she wasn't making fun of Maori traditions and was only having fun with the image of a duchess meeting someone she described as a "bare-bottomed warrior in a thong".
But Mr Evett says Ms Moos' apology wasn't directed at the people she offended, and he wants a public apology from the broadcaster.
In the meantime the story has been removed from the news channel's website.
3 News
source: newshub archive
