Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway caught on Oval Office couch with her heels

Washington: White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has spoken out after a photograph of her kneeling on a sofa in the Oval Office prompted criticism in some quarters. 

Thanks @OMAROSA. Happy to snap/send pics. Kellyanne Conway has ‘incredible respect’ for the Oval Office, WH says. https://t.co/YF3w8uS35a

— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) February 28, 2017

She said she "meant no disrespect" and did not mean to have her feet on the furniture as she took photographs of representatives from historically black colleges and universities who were gathered in the President's office.

Conway told Fox News' Lou Dobbs Tonight show that she had to sit in that particular position in order to take a photograph of the crowded room at a certain angle. 

She also spoke about the backlash she faced for her 'disrespectful' stance.

"These are the presidents and other leaders within the historically black college and universities and they came to visit the White House. Of course, just today, the President signed the executive order on HCBU’s and I had an occasion to speak at length to many of those leaders before that picture and after that picture and again today," she said.

"And I really want to thank so many of them for coming to my defense because they were in the room and they know I was being asked to take a picture in a crowded room with the press behind us. I was asked to take a certain angle and was doing exactly that. I certainly meant no disrespect, I didn’t mean to have my feet on the couch," Conway told Fox News. 

Moments after taking a photo herself, she was seen checking her phone, with her legs tucked beneath her on the sofa.