AM hosts have shared their opinions on when it is okay to ask someone where they are from after Prince William's godmother stepped down from her roles in the wake of a racism controversy.
William's godmother Lady Susan Hussey resigned after making "unacceptable and deeply regrettable" comments about race and nationality to Ngozi Fulani at a grand reception at Buckingham Palace, a spokesperson said
In her account posted on Twitter, Fulani, who works for Sistah Space - a group that provides support for women of African and Caribbean heritage who have been affected by abuse - said about 10 minutes after she arrived, Lady Hussey approached her and moved her hair to view her name badge.
After being asked several times what part of Africa she was from, Fulani said she replied: "I am born here and am British."
Fulani said Lady Hussey responded: "No, but where do you really come from, where do your people come from?"
AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green told the show she can see where the curiosity comes from for people to ask about people's backgrounds.
"It's a question I've been asked over the years. My family, the Chinese side of my family, have been here for four generations and I don't mind if people are interested in my background. I'm more than willing to share," Chan-Green said.
"But when you're somebody who already feels like they don't belong to one particular group and you're asked in a way that amplifies or suggests that you are different, you don't belong here, there must be a reason, you must justify what group you belong to, that's when it becomes offensive and I can see in this case that she feels Lady Hussey has overstepped that line."
Fellow AM co-host Ryan Bridge said it all comes down to how the message is delivered.
"You can tell if somebody is asking because they're genuinely curious and they would like to know about your family history or your ancestry or whether they're just racist prat kind of thing," Bridge said.
"I think you can probably judge that and so maybe that's what's happened in this case."
Chan-Green said people just need to be careful and respectful when asking questions about where people come from.
"I think people just need to be aware when you are asking ‘where do you come from?’ where that question is coming from," she said.
"It's a sensitive topic for people who don't feel like they belong in society because of the way you are treated if you look different."
But Bridge said he doesn't want society to get to a point where people can't talk and learn from one another.
"We don't want to get to a place as a society where we don't feel comfortable talking to other races, religions, sexualities because we're scared ... that would be a terrible place for us to be because we wouldn't learn anything from one another," he said.
Watch the full moment above.
