Channel 9 news presenter Belinda Russell wears 'nude' outfit on-air

Channel 9 star Belinda Russell has poked fun at herself after she shocked viewers with her 'nude' outfit while presenting the weather. Photo / Supplied

Channel 9 star Belinda Russell has defended her choice to wear a "nude" outfit while presenting the weather on the weekend.

Viewers were taken aback by Russell's outfit on Saturday night, with viewers writing on social media: "My husband spat his drink out and shouted, 'Bub come quick, Belinda isn't wearing any pants!'"

Another person wrote: "I must admit my husband and I did a bit of a double-take last night."

"When I saw your video I thought you hadn't finished getting dressed yet. I thought it was shapewear," added another.

Russell later told 9Honey that never has one of her outfits been so "controversial".

"I would say 80 per cent of the comments have been positive, 10 percent not in favour but not unkind and the rest, well, haters will be haters," she said.

View this post on Instagram

Who wore it better? 😂 Never has an outfit I’ve worn been so controversial. 😳😵😬 #whoworeitbetter

A post shared by Belinda Russell (@belinda.russell) on Aug 23, 2020 at 12:17am PDT

"I do have my own style and am not your stereotypical weather presenter who wears dresses only but can see why this outfit has been a little controversial. If it was a different colour, I'm sure it wouldn't have attracted so much attention and I probably should have checked it in front of the weather wall first."

Russell poked fun at herself on Instagram by posting a side-by-side photo with Seinfeld's George Costanza who once wore a similar outfit.

She captioned the photo: "Who wore it better?"

"These are challenging times and there are far more important things to worry about than what I am wearing," Russell told 9Honey. "But at least, it's put a smile on people's faces and given them something to giggle at – even if it has been at my expense."