A journalist from American cable news network CNN has apologised after her report on the Maori welcome of the British Royals to New Zealand was labelled “culturally insensitive”.

The TV news story by Jeanne Moos made a mockery of the traditional greeting given to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge by a group of Maori when they arrived in New Zealand last Monday.

Moos called the greeting a “royal bummer”, asking “is that any way to welcome a future king and queen?”.

There has been an angry response in New Zealand led by university student Jay Evett.

He launched an online petition saying the reporter’s “blatant disregard for, and insensitive commentary concerning, the Maori culture and its customs are inadmissible”.

Evett is not Maori himself but says he spoke out because he was “incensed” as a New Zealander.

The petition has already received more than 25,000 signatures and now Moos has apologised.

“Duly noted,” she said. “I do humour and satire, and I am truly sorry if the tone of my story offended anyone.”

Evett has told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat the apology was more than he was expecting, but he remains unimpressed.

“Her apology was, to say the least, lacklustre,” he said. “She didn’t actually apologise for the content of her report, rather the tone and if people took offence to her tone.”

Evett says CNN’s coverage of the event was disrespectful.

“There’s a lot of racial slurs in there,” he said.

“In particular the reference to ‘we don’t know that it’s an appropriate welcome to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’ certainly is a big issue.

“The reference to the haka and Afghanistan by our armed forces was also insensitive to say the least.

“It’s a belittling of the culture of New Zealand.”

The news item also showed US First Lady Laura Bush being welcomed by part of a New Zealand contingent serving in Afghanistan in 2008 when her husband George was US president.

Moos called the haka performed in front of the former first lady a routine of “slapping and thrusting” and said CNN had described it at the time as “a cross between a Chippendales lap dance and the mating dance of an emu”.

CNN cannot take sole responsibility for insensitive cultural reporting of the royal welcome.

News media around the world could not resist quirky captioning of the images of the royal welcome with such obvious puns a “Royals get cheeky welcome”.

Even coverage of CNN’s apology has not been immune to attempts at humour. Fairfax NZ News Online headlined the story: “CNN view on powhiri strikes a bum note.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived in Sydney yesterday afternoon and will be in Australia until the end of next week.