Chrissie Hynde Brushes Off Criticism Over Rape Comments

“If you don’t want my opinion, don’t ask me for it,” musician says of controversial statements

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Chrissie Hynde isn’t backing down after catching heat for suggesting that women who dress provocatively entice rapists.

In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, the 63-year-old musician brushed off the criticism over her comments, saying, “If you don’t want my opinion, don’t ask me for it.”

Hynde also said that she’s not sure she regrets making the comments.

“[Critics are] entitled to say whatever they want,” Hynde said. “Do I regret saying it? I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

Hynde, best known as the frontwoman for The Pretenders, caused an uproar over the weekend in an interview with the Sunday Times. The musician, who’s promoting her memoir  “Reckless: My Life as a Pretender,” recalled being sexually assaulted by a motorcycle gang at age 21 while on drugs, saying that the attack was her fault.

“If you play with fire you get burnt. It’s not any secret, is it?” Hynde offered.

“If you’re wearing something that says ‘Come and f–k me,’ you’d better be good on your feet … I don’t think I’m saying anything controversial am I?” she continued.

Hynde’s comments drew swift condemnation from Lucy Hastings, director of British charity group Victim Support.

“Victims of sexual violence should never feel or be made to feel that they were responsible for the appalling crime they suffered — regardless of circumstances or factors which may have made them particularly vulnerable,” Hastings said in a statement to The Guardian.

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