Canadian crooner Michael Buble has issued a sort-of apology for sharing a picture of a stranger’s derriere on Instagram.
The image in question, posted earlier this week, features a smirking Buble standing in front of a woman at a cash register in Miami. Her back is turned from the camera, and she’s wearing revealing shorts.
“There was something about this photo [my wife] took ,that seemed worthy of instagram (sic),” he wrote.
Below, he added a number of hashtags, including #babygotback, #beautifulbum and #hungryshorts.
Though the post garnered almost 42,000 likes, many social media users said they felt Buble was making fun of the stranger, objectifying her, or even body-shaming her for her form.
Others accused Buble of courting controversy to generate free publicity.
On Friday, the singer posted a lengthy response denying all those claims.
“I realize that a photo that was meant to be complimentary and lighthearted has turned into a questionable issue,” he wrote. “It hurts me deeply that anyone would think that I would disrespect women or be insulting to any human being.”
Buble added that he regrets that “there are people out there who found the photo offensive,” and that women are to be “celebrated, loved, respected, honored and revered.”
There were no hashtags on the response.
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