Katherine Webb answers criticism of her bikini photo, Instagram insults

Former Miss Alabama Katherine Webb was on "Good Morning America" Tuesday trying to calm the waters after she lashed out at critics of her weight on Instagram last week, calling them “middle aged women … [who] probably have problems of your own.”

Her detractors were remarking on a photo of Webb in a bikini that she had posted on the social media site, writing: “Getting ready for swimsuit season on the west coast.”

Webb told "GMA": “I was really surprised with the response, with the disgust.”

She acknowledged however that she did appear quite thin in the photo.

“I think I was maybe posing in a way that made it seem like I was more thin than I really am,” she said, adding she suffers from a condition that affects her weight.

“I do suffer from a thyroid problem and so that has been an issue for me, my weight can fluctuate,” she said.

Webb, 25, went into greater detail on her Instagram page in the post that offended some.

“To all of you who think I need to gain weight or eat more, I eat just fine. I am 5'11 so I have a lot more places to put my calories. I eat crap most of the time anyways. And to all the middle-aged women who like to leave mean comments on my page about my body, you can gladly skip my page and go somewhere else. I am tall, I eat just fine and also suffer from thyroid problems so don't make fun of me or my body when you probably have problems of your own. I rarely react to this kind of stuff, but this really bothers me.”

Webb told "GMA" she hoped people writing about her on social media would tone things down.

"Really think about what you say," she cautioned. "Can you imagine if someone said those things to you?"

Webb became instantly famous in 2013 when Brent Musberger picked her out in a crowd shot during a the BCS National Championship Game. She was dating University of  Alabama quarterback, A.J. McCarron at the time. They are now married.