Carrie Underwood has defended her stance on gay marriage amid a barrage of criticism and abuse from her Christian fans, insisting she answered a tough question as honestly as she could.

The "Jesus Take The Wheel" singer publicly offered her support of same-sex marriage during a recent interview with British newspaper The Independent, stating, "I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love," -  but her comments have incensed many God-fearing devotees."

One former fan called the star a "disgrace" in a recent tweet, while others have accused her of having links to the devil.

Addressing the backlash in a statement released on Thursday, Underwood says, "I was asked a difficult question in the last five minutes of an interview and I answered it the best way I knew how... I generally try to stay out of any kind of controversy."

"I just really try hard to do what I do and try to be nice to people and make great music and if people think they can look up to that, that's wonderful. If not, that's OK too."