Chrissy Teigen and John Legend were left stunned and appalled when a New York paparazzo hurled racial abuse at the couple in a bid to get an angry reaction.

The pair had just arrived at JFK Airport in New York on Thursday (19Jan17) when the foul snapper asked them questions about their roots.

Teigen took to Twitter shortly after the unpleasant encounter and detailed it for her followers, writing: "Paparazzi at JFK just asked me 'if we evolved from monkeys, why is John Legend still around?'"

She added, "and people wonder why celebs lose it in pics... Also, john is right next to me. The balls!

"I was very kind. Answered cooking questions, then he came with that..."

The model's followers reached out to support the couple and slam the crude snapper, suggesting Chrissy should have lashed out.

"Nah. They live for that photo and lawsuit," she responded, adding, "Guess we'll find him when he puts the video out."