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Hosts of the Australian breakfast news show TODAY have come under fire for mocking Meghan Markle's reading of her new children's book.
The Duchess of Sussex featured on YouTube's Brightly Storytime channel, reading aloud her new picture book, The Bench. The story is said to revolve around 'the evolving and expanding relationship between father and son'.
But after a clip of the video featured on a segment of the show, the hosts found it 'difficult to keep a straight face'.
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You can watch the video below.
Hosts Karl Stefanovic, Allison Langdon and Alex Cullen were heard to be giggling at various points throughout the reading.
At the beginning of the segment, Alex announced the news of the Duchess' reading, while jokingly commenting that the book was 'close to Karl's heart'.
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The hosts were then heard stifling giggles as Meghan read the last line of the story: "For the man and the boy who make my heart go pump-pump."
In a 'bizarre' turn of events, the TV hosts and production crew burst into full-blown laughter. Alex apologised, before commenting that "it was very hard to keep a straight face" throughout the reading.
Allison questioned Alex on why he was finding it difficult to control his laughter. He then said: "It's a lovely story. It's fascinating and fulfilling me in many, many ways."
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Each host then recited a line of Pump Up The Jam, an electropop track from 1989.
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Viewers of the show weren't happy about the conduct of the presenters within the segment. One fan took to Twitter to call the hosts "bullies and clowns," while another stated that 'these people should be fired'.
Others saw the funny side of the segment. "This cracked me up," one user said. Another branded the book "ridiculous".
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It looks like the hashtag #PumpPump has become widespread thanks to the feature, with many using it to express their disappointment in the beloved series.
Featured Image Credit: Credit: YouTubeTopics: Royal Family, Meghan Markle, News, TV And Film