Tom Hanks' Niece, Carly Reeves, Defends Epic Reality Show Meltdown

Tom Hanks had a relative go on national TV and melt down in dramatic fashion -- but the woman herself has no shame to her game ... and she says her uncle doesn't either.

We talked to Carly Reeves -- Tom and Rita Wilson's niece -- on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... this after her freak out for the ages was caught on camera and aired Monday on a new ABC show called "Claim to Fame," which is all about finding who's related to a celeb.

Unfortunately for her, Carly was found out in episode one ... and when she got the boot, she didn't take it particularly well -- with her exit playing out in a full-blown temper tantrum.

You gotta see it for yourself ... she's cursing, hurling insults at fellow contestants and blasting showrunners for what she believes was a raw deal in exposing her connection to TH.

In the aftermath of this explosion of rage, Carly caught a lot of flak online -- with many people calling her entitled, overly dramatic and a bit of a drama queen/crybaby ... and some felt it, perhaps, even reflected poorly on Tom and Rita -- who are the real stars here.

Welp, we asked Carly about all of that ... and her response was essentially -- I am what I am, and this was what it was. As she explains to us, her emotions here were raw and authentic ... and she wasn't hamming it up for the cameras.

Carly does regret the way things played out in hindsight, but all things considered ... she says she's not ashamed -- because this is simply who she is sometimes ... something she says her famous uncle and aunt were well aware of when they cosigned her appearance.

As for how Forrest Gump reacted ... sounds like it ain't no thing for Tommy boy. She says this isn't gonna hurt his image -- and that's probably accurate. He's proven to keep it pretty real himself in recent years ... including his rare flash of anger at fans bombarding his wife.