Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Robin Thicke hit the "Today" show this week to give a stirring performance of his hit song "Blurred Lines" and to speak out on the controversy surrounding it.
Featuring rappers T.I. and Pharrell, Thicke's "Blurred Lines" came under fire this summer when critics called the song misogynistic and even "rapey" for its boundary-pushing lyrics and scandalous music video which is chock-full of naked female models. The criticism even came from other musical artists, with Sara Quin of the band Tegan and Sara saying this week, "I don't want to go publicly on record saying I don't like Robin Thicke or that song. It's just...I struggle with some of it."
Thicke only made things worse when he was asked about the controversy last month, joking, "What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman."
"I made a bad joke early on and sometimes a bad joke goes a long way," Thicke explained to Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie on the "Today" show stage. "The idea was when we made this song, we had nothing but the most respect for women. I mean, I've been with the same woman since I was a teenager. For us, we were just trying to make a funny song and sometimes the lyrics can get misconstrued when you're just trying to put people on the dance floor and have a good time. We had no idea that it would stir this much controversy. We only had the best intentions."
"I think that's what great art does -- it's supposed to stir conversation, it's supposed to make us talk about what's important and what the relationships between men and women are," Thicke added. "If you listen to the lyrics, it says, 'That man is not your maker.' It's actually a feminist movement within itself. It's saying that women and men are equals as animals and as power. It doesn't matter if you're a good girl or a bad girl, you can still have a good time."
Take a look at Thicke's interview with "Today" above and check out stills from his "Blurred Lines" video below.
