Henry Cavill Isn’t Sure How Flirting and Rape Are Different

Dating is hard. Apparently it’s a lot harder if you’re Henry Cavill, though, because he’s afraid that flirting with a girl is going to get him accused of rape. Now, I’m not sure how Henry flirts, but I do know that no flirting I’ve ever done has come anywhere near rape. But Henry told GQ that it’s a concern he has.

“There’s something wonderful about a man chasing a woman. There’s a traditional approach to that, which is nice. I think a woman should be wooed and chased, but maybe I’m old-fashioned for thinking that.

“It’s very difficult to do that if there are certain rules in place. Because then it’s like: ‘Well, I don’t want to go up and talk to her, because I’m going to be called a rapist or something’. So you’re like, ‘Forget it, I’m going to call an ex-girlfriend instead, and then just go back to a relationship, which never really worked’. But it’s way safer than casting myself into the fires of hell, because I’m someone in the public eye, and if I go and flirt with someone, then who knows what’s going to happen?

“Now? Now you really can’t pursue someone further than, ‘No’. It’s like, ‘OK, cool’. But then there’s the, ‘Oh why’d you give up?’ And it’s like, ‘Well, because I didn’t want to go to jail?’”

Do you think the ex he went back to was the teenager or the MMA fighter? Me, I’d go for the MMA fighter, there’s something sexy about a woman who can kick your ass. After an alleged online backlash, Cavill gave this statement apologizing to Page Six:

“Having seen the reaction to an article in particular about my feelings on dating and the #metoo movement, I just wanted to apologize for any confusion and misunderstanding that this may have created,” he told Page Six in a statement Thursday.

“Insensitivity was absolutely not my intention. In light of this I would just like to clarify and confirm to all that I have always and will continue to hold women in the highest of regard, no matter the type of relationship, whether it be friendship, professional, or a significant other.

“Never would I intend to disrespect in any way, shape or form,” his statement continued. “This experience has taught me a valuable lesson as to the context and the nuance of editorial liberties. I look forward to clarifying my position in the future towards a subject that is so vitally important and in which I wholeheartedly support.”

I’ve read that three times and I still don’t know what the f**k he’s saying. This is by far the most non-apology apology I’ve ever read. If you translate this statement down to its base elements, I’m pretty sure it says “Some people were mad on Twitter, and I didn’t do anything wrong but I just want this to go away now, please.”

The thing is, I’m pretty sure the “backlash” to Cavill’s statement was massively overstated. Jezebel didn’t even have an article about it, I had to go to The Mary Sue to find an angry hot take, and that feels like cheating. And I checked Twitter, but I didn’t see a backlash outside of a few tweets, it was mostly just a backlash to the backlash which largely didn’t exist to begin with.

Cavill did have a bit of a point. Aziz Ansari had had to keep his head down and a new season of his show Master of None is on hold because he asked the naked woman who was consensually sucking his dick if he could put it in her vagina instead a few times, so yeah, sometimes the lines aren’t that clear, and what people consider inappropriate varies from person to person. But I’m pretty sure as long as you keep your dick in your pants until she says you can take it out then you’re good, Henry.