Amanda Gillies has felt the wrath of angry Gisborne locals after making an incest joke during The AM Show news break.
Usually the charmer among the hosts, she was even called "slanderous" by an outraged local on Wednesday morning.
The angry letter came after a side comment Gillies, who is from Gisborne, made while reading a story about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's distant bloodline.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton made the claim about Ms Markle and Prince Harry in his upcoming book, titled Meghan: A Hollywood Princess.
Morton says her lineage can be traced back 25 generations to Robert the Bruce - so she will marry her very, very distant cousin on May 19.
"[The] husband and wife to be Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are actually cousins - I thought this only happened in Gisborne," Gillies joked.
Later in the show, host Duncan Garner took a few minutes to read out a letter written in by a listener, as Mark Richardson tried to contain his laughter.
"I'm writing to express my disgust at Amanda's condescending comments about cousins marrying each other in Gisborne," the listener wrote.
"How can she, as a Gisborne girl, perpetuate negative stereotypes of the coast and voice that on a national platform as big as The AM Show?
"Her comments are highly offensive to me and other Gisbornites.
"She should be ashamed and she has abused her position on a national stage to make such slanderous comments."
However Gillies, a Gisborne local herself, had an explanation.
"I say it because I come from a huge family. We're a good Catholic family. We do a lot of breeding.
"So it's more of a private in-joke in my family that we laugh at that sort of stuff.
"I apologise if you have taken offense - which, from this, you clearly have."
Garner joked that Gillies, who has previously been described to as classy, lovely and the rose between two thorns, had been "found out".
"Amanda is one of the loveliest co-workers you could ever want to work with," he added.
"When she says sorry she means it."
Richardson, however, thought it was a wise move on the royals' part.
"They should interbreed to keep that bloodline going."
Newshub.
