A woman whose picture figured prominently in the the original version of the glitchy government healthcare website has made a tearful appearance on television to defend herself against what she called cyberbullying.

"I deserve a chance to tell people who I am, and not just let everybody else say whatever they want," the model, identified as "Adriana," told ABC News on Wednesday. "I'm a mother, and I'm a wife, and I'm not a professional model."

The website, healthcare.gov, the main portal for consumers shopping for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, has not performed well, and has been widely derided. Some critics have taken potshots at the woman.

Adriana, who was identified by ABC as a Colombian citizen living legally in the US, grew visibly distressed when reporter Amy Robach asked her about the mean things the internet has been saying.

"You've been dubbed ‘glitch girl,’ the most despised face on the planet. Did you ever anticipate this type of publicity, scrutiny?" Robach asked.

"No," Adriana replied. "As a kid I never went through that. But now I am. It's some sort of bullying. But at the same time, you know, I thought I had to do this for my child. I'm here to stand up for myself, and defend myself."

Adriana's picture, which she submitted after the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services sought photographs of American families, was replaced on the site shortly after its launch with graphics explaining other ways to shop for insurance. She was not paid.

Earlier this month, a stock model whose photo appeared under the Guardian headline “I fantasise about group sex with old, obese men” said the potentially embarrassing association had caused her to laugh. “How can you take it seriously?" the model, Samantha Ovens, told the Guardian’s Leo Benedictus.

"There are bigger things in this life to get concerned about."