During an interview with Time magazine back in 2013, Kelly Clarkson said she would not use the word feminist to describe herself. “I wouldn’t say feminist — that’s too strong,” Clarkson said. “I think when people hear feminist, it’s like, ‘Get out of my way, I don’t need anyone.’ I love that I’m being taken care of, and I have a man that’s a leader. I’m not a feminist in that sense.”

Clarkson was criticized for her stance, as the definition of feminist is a person who supports feminism, “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.”

Asked about the controversial comments in a recent interview with The Huffington Post, Clarkson said her “opinion got a little misled.”

“I was saying that in the past decade, I feel people have associated the word ‘feminist’ with ‘bitch’ and ‘man-hater’ and all these things,” Clarkson said. “And I’m definitely not that girl. That’s what I meant by that.”

Clarkson said she felt the interpretation of feminist had been altered by society in a way similar to diva. “Diva used to mean something great. It was a female opera singer who could floor the room. They could be like, ‘Oh man, she’s such a diva.’ Now it’s a negative term to throw around,” Clarkson said. “We’ve kind of killed it in a sense. Just recently, people are starting to turn back around to where it’s not such a negative, nasty feel to it.”

But despite her issues with the word feminist, Clarkson still values its definition. “Obviously I believe in female equal rights,” she said. “I’m not an idiot. I’m a female. I believe in equal rights across the board.”

Clarkson’s new album, “Piece by Piece,” is out now.