Chrissie Hynde has offered yet another controversial opinion on the topic of sexual assault.
Hynde, best known as the frontwoman of The Pretenders, placed blame on “bumping and grinding” pop stars, who she says are “responsible for a great deal of damage” to women and help to provoke sexual assault.
Hynde’s comments came during Tuesday’s episode of BBC Radio 4’s “Woman’s Hour.”
“I don’t think sexual assault is a gender issue as such, I think it’s very much … it’s all around us now,” Hynde said. “It’s provoked by this pornography culture, it’s provoked by pop stars who call themselves feminists.”
She went on to characterize sexually provocative pop performers as “sex workers.”
“Maybe they’re feminists on behalf of prostitutes — but they are not feminists on behalf of music, if they are selling their music by bumping and grinding and wearing their underwear in videos. That’s a kind of feminism — but, you know, you’re a sex worker, is what you are.
“I would say those women are responsible for a great deal of damage,” Hynde added.
The 64-year-old musician drew sharp criticism in late August for suggesting that women who dress provocatively entice rapists.
“If you don’t want to entice a rapist, don’t wear high heels so you can’t run from him,” Hynde said during an interview with the U.K.’s Sunday Times Magazine.
“If you play with fire you get burnt. It’s not any secret, is it?” Hynde said, while recalling a decades-old incident during which a motorcycle gang forced her to perform sexual acts on the gang’s members.
Hynde brushed off the ensuing criticism in a subsequent interview, saying she wasn’t sure if she regretted making the comments.
“[Critics are] entitled to say whatever they want,” Hynde told the Washington Post. “Do I regret saying it? I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”
Hynde added, “If you don’t want my opinion, don’t ask me for it.”