LOS ANGELES - Recording star Faith Hill has insisted she was just clowning around backstage at the Country Music Association Awards when cameras caught her apparently reacting with angry disbelief as rival Carrie Underwood was named female vocalist of the year.
In a live TV moment replayed repeatedlyon the internet the day after Monday's awards, Hill is seen throwing her arms up in mistaken triumph as Underwood's name is read, then shouting, "What!?" directly into the camera as her smile turns to a look of shock.
The three other nominees shown on split screen - Sara Evans, Gretchen Wilson and Martina McBride - were all seen graciously applauding when Underwood, formerly of American Idol fame, was announced as the winner on the ABC telecast.
"The idea that I would act disrespectful toward a fellow musician is unimaginable to me, Hill said in a statement released today.
"For this to become a focus of attention given the talent gathered is utterly ridiculous. Carrie is a talented and deserving Female Vocalist of the Year."
Hill's manager and publicist also issued statements saying that what television audiences saw was a product of playfulness in the company of friends gathered with her backstage, not sour grapes.
"She was just messing around," spokesman Paul Freundlich told Reuters. "She didn't realize that the camera was rolling the whole time. ... She just thought they were doing a shot when they read the nominees off."
He added: "Faith is the most mild mannered, funny and goofy individual you could ever meet."
Manager Gary Borman said he has known Hill, who is married to fellow country star Tim McGraw, for many years and "the idea that she would ever insult or undermine another artist, let alone another human being's success, is absolutely preposterous."
"She was being playful while the nominations were being read, and playful after," he said.
