'Are you proud of this racist exchange': CNN host slammed for mocking Indian-origin Spelling Bee winner

A video of an Indian-American girl, Ananya Vinay, trying to spell "covfefe" – a word made famous by President Trump – on a CNN show has taken the internet by storm.

Viewers were left infuriated after things took an awkward turn towards the end of the interview when host Alisyn Camerota dismissed Vinay's attempts at spelling "covfefe" with a shocking comment.

"It's a nonsense word. So, we're not sure that its root is actually in Sanskrit, which is what you're probably, uh, used to using, so, I don't know. Anyway," the CNN host said, sparking an outrage on Twitter.

Since the video of the interview was shared by comedian Jeremy McLellan, furious viewers have taken to social media to call out the "stereotype".

"Reinforcing the Sanskrit stereotype on a champion of Indian origin, really? How progressive @CNN? Ever stepped outside the USA for #Covfefe?" a Twitter user shared, while another wrote, "@CNN Are you proud of this racist exchange with a 12 year old? Who is the ignorant female working for you?"

"Sanskrit, a language used by less than 1% of ppl in India, is commonly used by 6th graders from Fresno, according to @CNN," another viewer shared.

"In the flow of criticising Trump they are disrespecting everyone.. even a 12 year kid and then sanskrit which is racism. Clearly CNN is fake," added a Twitter user, while another wrote, "That young girl accomplished something great and @CNN used her moment of personal victory to take a cheap shot at [a] president they don't like."

The flurry of comments continued as people reacted to the show host's remarks on Vinay's ethnicity. The spell-bee champ, who is a California native, recently became the 13th Indian-American child to have won the prestigious competition.

While Vinay won the competition by correctly spelling the word "marocain" in the last round, like many she struggled with the bizarre word "covfefe" that had cropped-up on one of Donald Trump's tweets.