Anthony Albanese has claimed he meant to describe Australian of the Year Grace Tame’s “difficult life” when he labelled her “difficult”, as he sought to clarify his remarks following strong backlash.

Tame, an outspoken advocate for sexual abuse survivors, reshared a social media post to her Instagram story on Thursday morning, saying “‘Difficult’ is the misogynist’s code for a woman who won’t comply. History tends to call her ‘courageous’.”

Hours later, she reshared another story, saying “[Tame] is so difficult, she is more powerful than the Opposition”.

Speaking in Melbourne on Thursday morning, Albanese said he hadn’t meant to describe Tame as “difficult” at a News Corp event on Wednesday where he was asked to describe public figures in one word. Instead he meant that her life had been “difficult”, he said.

“I was asked to describe people in one word and Grace Tame you certainly can’t describe in one word. She has had a difficult life, and that was what I was referring to,” he said.

“If there was any misinterpretation, then I certainly apologise. I think that Grace Tame has taken what is personal trauma and that awful experience that she had and channelled that into helping, in particular, other young women, being a strong and powerful advocate, being quite courageous in the way that she has gone out there.”

Albanese said on Thursday he didn’t agree with comments Tame made at protests against the visit of Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, in early February.

Tame was filmed leading a chat “from Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada” at one of the rallies. Critics, including the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, have demanded the prime minister condemn Tame for her comments while others argued her Australian of the Year award should be stripped.

“Now there are other issues, such as the language that Grace Tame used, that I disagree with at the demonstration that was held in Sydney,” Albanese said.

“So, that’s why it’s impossible to describe people in one word, and that wasn’t meant to be taken that way, it was certainly just a word that comes to mind when different people are mentioned.”

The comment has drawn criticism the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, who said the prime minister’s comment was “completely unwarranted”.

“Labelling women as difficult won’t silence us. It won’t stop us speaking truth to power. Next time try ‘unbreakable’ or ‘warrior’ or “fierce”, prime minister,” she wrote on X.

Waters’ upper house colleague, Sarah Hanson-Young, thanked all the “difficult women” for the right to vote, run for parliament, own a bank account and buy a house.

Hannah Ferguson, an online media commentator, was particularly critical in a video posted to Instagram, describing Albanese as a “bootlicker”, “piss-weak” and a “user”.

“Put simply, Anthony Albanese has departed from any principles he once claimed to have as he follows Pauline [Hanson] down the road to the right. That’s all that’s happening right now, a calculated pivot as he sees her number surge,” she said.

“What Albo and whoever’s advising him forget is that Australians care most about someone having principles and standing by them – we can smell a disingenuous person from a mile away.”

Guardian Australia has contacted Tame for a response.