Mary Earps has defended her controversial comments about Hannah Hampton and Sarina Wiegman in an emotional interview with talkSPORT.Earps insists that quotes from an extract in her new book have been ‘distorted’ by the media and led to the drama that’s resulted going overboard. The ex-England goalkeeper claimed that former teammate Hampton was rewarded for her ‘bad behaviour’ in the Lionesses camp.And Earps went on to criticise manager Wiegman for making the Chelsea star the new No.1 at her expense.It has led to backlash coming Earps’ way, including from Hampton’s club boss Sonia Bompastor, who called for the 32-year-old to ‘show more respect’.But she has now spoken out about the ongoing furore surrounding her comments in her autobiography, ‘All In’. Speaking on The Women’s Football Show on talkSPORT, Earps, who appeared to be holding back tears, began: “When people don’t like things for what it is, I can accept that, like [saying]: ‘Mary, I don’t like you’. I can accept that. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s cool.“But you know when people are so on something for what it’s not… you know, I wrote the book. So, I’m not upset that people have opinions on the book. That’s totally allowed. I think it’s because I just feel like it’s got really distorted.“And because of the way things have been reported, it’s made it sound like I’ve been coming for certain people.“Genuinely, I’ve done so many pre-recorded interviews as well, which people are now just gonna say they look ridiculous.“Because I have said throughout, like how much respect I have for Sarina and how I think Hannah’s such a great goalkeeper and what an amazing summer they all had together and what an incredible job Sarina, Hannah, and the whole team did. “And I think that’s just like really challenging because I feel like all of that has been totally lost.”Earps’ comments on Hampton in her autobiography have sparked an England rowGettyBut Earps believes the media have taken her words on Hampton and Wiegman out of contextGetty‘Damned if I do, I’m damned if I don’t’Earps also went on to speak further about the media reaction surrounding her new autobiography and how that is taking away from the real message she wanted to send in the book.“I understand that’s the name of the game and that’s the nature of the beast, and I’m in this life and in this industry – I just take my responsibility as a role model so seriously,” she explained.“I’ve worked so hard to build this legacy, you know, and try and leave the game in a better place. That’s all we’ve done.“That’s what everyone tries to do who plays the game. We don’t start in this game for money and cars and houses and all of that stuff.“That’s just the reality. We’ve played this game because we love it. I think, because of all the stuff we’ve faced, we want to make sure that other people don’t go through the same stuff that we go through. “I’ve literally tried to do everything I can to help people give opportunity, you know?”Earps has admitted that the controversy has made he want to ‘crawl up into a ball’talkSPORTShe addressed her comments for the first time on talkSPORTShe added: “I feel like I’m damned if I do, I’m damned if I don’t.I’m not trying to play the violin. It’s just hard when this is not what the book is.“The book is my life, my experiences, my perspective. Other people can have different perspectives. We have multiple perspectives on the same situation and that’s okay. “I’m just trying to be honest in my truth and be authentic.“I’m not trying to blame journalism or anyone, but because of these reports, it’s just come out like the polar opposite of what I wanted.“And that is so frustrating because it makes you just want to crawl up into a ball.”Earps was left angry at losing her England No.1 spot to HamptonGettyBent’s reactiontalkSPORT’s Darren Bent has given his thoughts on Earps’ interview and honest words about the ongoing England drama.Bent said: “I understand Hannah Hampton potentially was a disruption when she was younger, getting in the squads, and she wasn’t happy about being in the squad.“But Sarina Wiegman, you’re talking about one of the best female managers on the planet, by the way, if not the best.“If she decides to bring Hannah Hampton back because she feels she’s matured, because as young people, we always do silly stuff, I don’t know what Hannah Hampton did to kind of disrupt the squad, but if Sarina Wiegman felt it was right to bring her back, then I’ve got no issue with that. And obviously, it seemed like it was the right decision.“But what it looks like to me a little bit, the little snippets that have been taken… it almost felt like Sarina said, ‘I’m going to bring back Hannah Hampton and she’s also going to be number one’. And Mary didn’t like that, threw her toys at her pram and said, ‘you know what, I’m retiring‘.Bent continued: “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more to this story, but it just doesn’t look right for Mary.Hampton went on to star for England and Bent believes that softens Earps’ caseGetty“I think if England hadn’t won the Euros, then the narrative might’ve been a little bit different and people might’ve said, ‘well, maybe what Mary was talking about in the book, maybe it’s come to fruition because they haven’t won it’…“Not only did Hannah go and win the Euros of England, she was unbelievable in the tournament as well.”“Hampton justified her selection,” Bent concluded. “That’s why I think all of a sudden it changed and the narrative, and a lot of people looking at Mary again, well, hold on a second, it’s not quite right what you said. “And also if you’re a senior player in a squad and a young player’s being disruptive, you’ve got to back them.“You can’t be going to the manager and going, ‘I can’t believe you’re bringing her back’. You don’t always have to be best friends, but surely as a mature and senior player, you’ve got to say to the manager, ‘I understand that and try to help her come through whatever she’s going through’. “So again, it was sad to see. Mary there, she could see how emotional she is, but unfortunately, when you write a book and you come out with these quotes, it’s there in black and white. So you can’t hide behind and go, ‘I didn’t mean that’.””