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Robin Thicke performs at the 2013 BET Awards in Los Angeles, California on June 30, 2013. REUTERS/Phil McCarten

R&B crooner Robin Thicke has hit back at critics who say that his song “Blurred Lines” contains “rapey” lyrics. "I can't dignify that with a response," Thicke said in an interview with BBC Radio 1. "That's ridiculous.”

When asked to explain the meaning behind the lyrics, he said, “For me, it was about blurring the lines between men and women, and how much we're the same. My wife is as strong as I am, if not smarter and stronger. And she's an animal too, and she doesn't need a man to define her. The song is really about women are everything that a man is, and can do anything a man can do.”

Thicke also said his "Blurred Lines" lyrics were about “blurred lines between the good girl and a bad girl. Even good girls have a bad side to them; you just have to know how to pull it out of them.”

In addition to the lyrics, critics have charged that the unrated music video -- which features a trio of nude models -- is demeaning to women. Thicke explains that his wife, actress Paula Patton, pushed for the release of the unrated version. "I showed it to my wife and all her girlfriends, and they said, 'You have to put this out, this is so sexy and so cool,'" Thicke said.

Thicke -- who opined that the lyrics and music video for “Blurred Lines” would only be offensive to “extra-religious people” -- went on to elaborate that the premise for the video was the brainchild of director Diane Martel. "I had mentioned to her that I wanted to do a very funny and silly video,” Thicke said. “And she said, 'well, what if we have the girls take their clothes off?' And I said, 'let's make sure we shoot two versions, because I don't want it to be sleazy.' I've always been a gentleman; I've been in love with the same woman since I was a teenager. I don't want to do anything that's inappropriate."

“Blurred Lines” is currently sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 for the fifth week in a row.