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Controversial pick-up artist Julien Blanc has apologised for making references to violence against women and admitted: "I'm the most hated man in the world".

The self-styled 'dating guru' appeared on CNN this morning to offer a sombre mea culpa after he was widely criticised for being sexist and objectifying women.

Blanc was kicked out of Australia after shocking footage of him 'teaching' men how to harass women was posted online.

In the video the man is seen grabbing women in the streets of Tokyo and pushing their heads into his crotch.

"If you're a white male, you can do what you want," Julien said.

A petition calling for him to banned from entering the UK when his tour reaches these shores in February 2015 has been signed by more than 150,000 people.

Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone has asked Home Secretary Theresa May to ban US-based Blanc from entering the UK.

Blanc told CNN's Chris Cuomo today he has been "overwhelmed" by recent events.

"My intentions were never bad," he said.

"I agree it was a horrible attempt at humour and unfortunately, a lot of it, just got put out of context.

"I take responsibility for it 100% and I apologise for it. I'm extremely sorry.

"I feel horrible, I'm not going to be happy if I feel like I'm the most hated man in the world. "

"I'm overwhelmed by the way people are responding."

Asked to explain why he posted pictures of him appearing to choke women on Twitter, Blanc said it had been taken "out of context".

"That is not what I teach," he said.

"Those pictures are a horrible attempt at humour. They were also taken out of context, in a way."

(Image: Twitter)

"You can make anything look bad in a picture.

"Those were girls I was hanging out with. I did not physically choke them.

"I just wanted to provoke a shock. Which it did but for all the wrong reasons."

Blanc was also grilled about a disturbing 'checklist' he posted on Twitter which makes reference to domestic violence.

The diagram features suggestions such as 'use intimidation,' and 'use emotional abuse' and was originally designed by a charity to help women identify when they are being abused.

But Blanc posted the chart saying it was a 'checklist' for 'how to make her stay.'

Blanc admitted he has found himself under the spotlight for posting "a lot of stupid stuff online."

"It was stupid," he said.

"I regret it and I'll definitely be more careful in the future.

"I'm re-evaluating everything I'm putting out, and everything I'm doing."