The woman who appeared on the homepage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) website when first launched is speaking out about the cyberbullying she experienced as the face of ‘Obamacare.’

'Mona Lisa' Of Obamacare Stands Up For Herself

Adriana, who asked that her last name not be released, is a Colombian immigrant living in Maryland with her husband and young son as a permanent resident. She participated in an interview with Good Morning America in the hopes to put an end to the nasty comments and jokes being swung her way. Adriana says she wanted to come out and be able to set the record straight on her identity, to stop the speculation surrounding her identity and, hopefully, put an end to all the nasty comments.

“I’m here to stand up for myself and defend myself and let people know the truth,” Adriana told ABC's Amy Robach.

According to the report, Adriana contacted the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to participate in a free family photo shoot in exchange for their permission to use the photos to advertise the new health care system – neither she nor her family were paid.

Adriana Says She's Been Cyberbullied

When Adriana’s photo was placed on the homepage of the malfunctioning website, late night comedians and reporters began speculating on her identity while simultaneously bashing the website, earning her the nickname ‘Glitch Girl.’ “I mean, I don’t know why people should hate me because it’s just a photo. I didn’t design the website. I didn’t make it fail, so I don’t think they should have any reasons to hate me,” Adriana explained.

Adriana, who has not signed up for healthcare, though she is eligible, and insists she is neutral on the topic. No matter how the public feels about the ACA, Adriana is shocked that her photo would receive so much negative attention.

“Like I said, it was shocking. It was upsetting. It was sad. We were having a hard day when we read all this…And in a way, I’m glad that my son is not old enough to understand, because you know whatever happens to you, it hurts them too,” Adriana said – her son is 21 months old.

Two weeks ago, Adirana’s photograph disappeared from the site, which she describes as “a relief.” Still, even with her picture off the website, it will always be associated with the beginnings of Obamacare, and is still the butt of many jokes.

On The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert performed a segment on the ‘Obamacare girl’ and her sudden disappearance from the site on Oct. 28.

However, Adriana says that the jokes don’t bother her as much as the hate she felt as the face of Obamacare. In her interview, she laughed at Colbert’s joking statement, calling her a “vaguely ethnic smiling woman.”

“I’m pure Colombian,” Adriana affirmed, laughing at the Colbert segment.

And, Adriana appears to be moving on with her life post-Glitch Girl, saying that, while the cyberbullying did hurt her emotionally, her life has been relatively unaffected by all the controversy and attention. “They didn’t ruin my life. I still have a job, I’m still married. That didn’t really crush me to the ground. I’m fine. Now I laugh about it,” she said.

Adriana did ask the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take down her photo from the homepage before it was removed in late October, but the HHS insists that the switch had nothing to do with the request, and was an organic choice to make the website “dynamic.”

“We transitioned to new graphics because we believe they provide a better way to visually reinforce key information to users about options for applying at this point in time,” an HHS spokesperson told ABC News.

Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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