The US congressman who discussed calling women “sluts” said on Thursday that he was “paid to be provocative.”

Jason Lewis (R-Minn.) told local WCCO radio that his inflammatory rhetoric was just part of his job as an entertaining radio host.

“I was paid to be provocative,” Lewis told the station.

“That’s the difference between a politician and a pundit. That’s why going back six years, eight years, 10 years, 15 years, misses the point.”

The congressman came under scrutiny on Wednesday when CNN unearthed audio of his radio show where he lamented the fact that “a woman can behave as a slut, but you can’t call her a slut?”

Lewis explained on Thursday that the “sluts” debate on his show was part of a rhetorical cultural discussion.

“Look, a rhetorical discussion about the cultural changes and whether we could hold anyone, male or female, to standards made for an interesting hour. Made for an interesting rhetorical discussion,” he told WCCO.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do on talk radio. And if you’re provocative when you do it, well that’s part of our job.”