Miss World NZ defends haka after criticism

Cape Town - Miss World New Zealand has defended her haka at the international beauty pageant, after social media users attacked it as "embarrassing" and "disturbing".

Click HERE for Miss World New Zealand's haka

According to the Stuff website, Deborah Lambie, 24, performed a haka in the "talent" category of the Miss World competition in Sanya, China, this past weekend.

Lambie said the process of learning it helped her appreciate what it meant to be a Kiwi.

While some fans praised Lambie's haka, calling it "powerful" and "amazing", the comments on her Facebook post swiftly spiralled into criticism.

Lambie, who placed 15th out of 117 contestants.