The #MeToo movement has provoked many interesting conversations across the world, feeding into a global campaign against rape, harassment and abuse.

But sometimes when people add their voices to the mix, it adds slightly less – as has happened this week with Superman star Henry Cavill.

In an interview with GQ Australia, the star said that he was “frightened” of approaching women because of #MeToo.

“There’s something wonderful about a man chasing a woman,” he said. “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’,” he continued. 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’.

“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?’”.

As you might imagine, his comments have not gone down well.

“This is absurd. If Henry Cavill doesn’t want to be called a rapist then all he has to do is… not rape anyone,” wrote one tweeter. “The mental gymnastics some men are doing to position themselves as “victims” of #MeToo is insane.”

“If you’re approaching women in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe, then YOU need to change your behaviour, instead of whining about how some men are now facing consequences for serial harassment and assault,” she continued.

“Stop trying to derail the conversation by claiming #MeToo wants to “stop men ever talking to women” or some bullshit. If you don’t know the difference between politely asking someone out and sexually harassing them, you have a serious problem.

“To engage in good faith with people talking about false accusations: they are rare & that’s why those cases are widely reported. The vast majority of actual rapists will face no consequences. False reports are not a problem compared to actual rapes.”

Henry Cavill has been blasted for comparing flirting to rape