American 'pickup artist' Julien Blanc, who made international headlines after petitions were created to ban the dating coach from several countries, including Canada, over his sexist, racist and violent comments, has apologized for what he calls his "humour."
In a segment with CNN's Chris Cuomo, Blanc started his interview with an apology and said his "intentions were never bad."
"I want to apologize to anybody I've offended in anyway, this was never my intention," he told CNN. "I just want to put it out there I am extremely sorry for everything that happened."
Blanc says his comments and actions were horrible attempts at humour, and how a lot of his words were also taken out of context.
The California man, who is an executive coach with Real Social Dynamics (RSD) has courses that teaches students, usually what he calls socially awkward men, how to pick up and date women. On his now closed Twitter account, Blanc mentioned forms of violence like choking women and teaches men using phrases like "panty dropping masculinity," and how to break her "bitch shield."
With more than 73,000 combined signatures to ban Blanc from Canada, RSD removed Canadian tour dates from their site and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said the government was considering options to bar his entry into the country, according to Global News.
In the interview, Cuomo also brings up images of Blanc with his hands around a woman's neck and his fingers on his lips telling her to shush. When asked about the image, Blanc said those pictures were horrible attempts at humour.
"I did place my hands around their necks but I did not physically choke them," he told Cuomo. He added he wanted to provoke shock and acknowledged that it wasn't for the right reasons.
Blanc's course descriptions still remain on RSD's website and you can still purchase a course starting at $197 (U.S.). While Cuomo adds Blanc's career is in a "grey area," the dating coach is still hopeful for clients.
"I'm also re-evaluating everything I put out and going to be putting out."