Robin Thicke responds to critics who say 'Blurred Lines' condones rape
Credit: Star Trak / Interscope
Singer Robin Thicke has lashed back at critics of his hit "Blurred Lines," specifically the critics who claim the song condones rape.
In an interview with BBC's Radio 1, Thicke was asked if he'd seen the articles claiming his song advocates sexual abuse, to which the singer responded, "Yeah, I think they should all ... I can't even dignify that with a response; that's ridiculous."
Thicke discussed the actual meaning behind the lyrics, revealing that the song is about both "blurring the lines between men and women and how much we're the same" and "blurred lines between a good girl and a bad girl."
"Even very good girls have a little bad side," Thicke added. "You just have to know how to pull it out of them."
In addition to his discussion about the song's meaning, Thicke also took time to talk about the controversial music video for the single. Thicke states that the video, which features Thicke dancing around with naked girls, was director Diane Martel's concept. While he said the music video should only be controversial to "extra-religious people," Thicke stated he did want to shoot a clothed version, saying, "I don't want it to be sleazy. I've always been a gentleman. I've been with the same woman since I was a teenager. So I don't want to do anything that's inappropriate."
Thicke ultimately preferred the clothed version and didn't even want to use the naked version. However, once his wife and her friends saw the naked version, they insisted he should release that video as well. The song quickly raced up the charts since the release of the music videos, and the song is on track to being Thicke's biggest hit.
So what do you make of the controversy? Do critics have a point in interpreting "Blurred Lines" as a sexual abuse allegory? Or are they way off base? Sound off in the comments!