'Gross & disrespectful of women' - DJ Dominic Harvey under fire for DWTS crotch shot tweet

Chrystal Chenery was not laughing when she saw Dom Harvey's social media post

Radio DJ Dominic Harvey has apologised for an offensive social media post and banned himself from all social media.

The Edge breakfast host faced a social media backlash after he posted a screen shot from last night's Dancing With the Stars final of Chrystal Chenery's crotch.

The picture was taken as Chenery kicked her legs during a lift with partner Jonny Williams, briefly exposing her underwear.

After initially defending the post as a joke, Harvey has issued an apology statement this afternoon, which reads:

"Last night during DWTS I took a screen cap of Chrystal dancing and posted it online with the caption, 'Chrystal just showing Art what he missed out on.'

"This was done with the intention of being funny with absolutely no malice intended. I deleted the post this morning as soon as I heard Chrystal wasn't ok with it. I'd like to apologise to Chrystal for any harm this caused her or anybody else.

"I'm now putting myself on a social media ban, apart from Linkden [sic]...you never know when you'll be looking for new employment opportunities."

Harvey posted the photo on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram last night with the message: "Chrystal showing Art what she missed out on."

This morning, he deleted the message but not before several followers lambasted him for the poor-taste post.

Gillian Parkinson wrote: "I'm not going to say what I want to say, but an abridged version is "you are so gross & disrespectful of women"."

Harvey initially defended the post, saying he was "definitely not disrespectful to women" and he was "just having a laugh".

"No harm intended. Jokes are very subjective - if you don't like, don't follow. But def no malice there," he replied.

@GillianParkinsn fair opinion. I am gross. Definitely not disrespectful to women though. Thanks.

— Dominic Harvey (@DomHarvey) July 19, 2015

@GillianParkinsn just having a laugh. No harm intended. Jokes are very subjective- if you don't like, don't follow. But def no malice there

— Dominic Harvey (@DomHarvey) July 19, 2015

When asked how he thought Chrystal would feel about the photo, Harvey replied: "I'd hope she laughs at it."

But it seems the dancing star wasn't amused by the post, leading Harvey to delete the message.

"Chrystal wasn't overly happy about it so I've decided to take it down, out of respect for her," he told the Herald.

"The intention of it was to be humorous and certainly not to harm anyone. I like Chrystal a lot and I've got a lot of time for her and that's why it was removed."

He said he would probably be more careful with what he said on social media in the future.

Jay Jay Feeney, Harvey's wife, also appeared on Dancing With The Stars as a contestant, but was eliminated last week.

Mediaworks have yet to respond to requests for comment or to confirm if any disciplinary action will be taken.

The Bachelor star Art Green also declined to comment but posted a reply on Harvey's Instagram post: "Damn it."

It's not the first time Dom Harvey has come under fire for his comments on social media. In 2013, he compared a contestant on New Zealand X-Factor to a character in Once Were Warriors.

He wrote: "Poor Gracie! First molested in her own bed by uncle bully. And now kicked out of #xfactornz", after contestant Grace Ikanasio failed to make it through to the next round.

Prior to that, Harvey was accused of sexism when he tweeted his views about women rapping during the X Factor auditions.

"Girls rapping. Hardly ever a good idea," he said.

- nzherald.co.nz