Adam Levine doesn’t think he’s a douchebag and defends his string of model ex-girlfriends in a new interview with GQ.

Is Adam Levine A Douchebag?

Levine, 35, is the adored front man of Maroon 5, a popular judge on The Voice and is known for his cocky attitude. While discussing his role in the upcoming film Begin Again in a recent interview, Levine pondered on what exactly makes one a douchebag.

“Would it be really easy to assume that I was a douchebag? Definitely. One hundred percent. But that doesn’t mean that I am. Or maybe I am, I don’t know,” Levine pondered.

In his feature film debut, Levine plays, for lack of a better word, a complete douchebag who trades his lovely girlfriend for a career in the spotlight.

Levine determined that three things define a douchebag: arrogance, a lack of empathy and severe insecurity.

“I’m not arrogant. I’m cocky. It’s different. Cocky is playful,” Levine said, defending himself from the first offense.

Levine further defends himself against the ‘douche’ label, saying that he isn’t insecure, but people might resent his confidence: “I’m confident. Some people don’t like confidence. They resent confidence.”

Later in the article, however, Levine admits that, like everyone, he just wants to be liked.

“You know what the gist of this article is? Your opening line can be: ‘You don’t have to like me, but I’d prefer it if you did.’ That’s kind of how I feel. I’m not the easiest person to love right off the bat, you know? If I knew everyone in the world, they would love me. Every single last f—king one of them,” Levine insisted.

Adam Levine Defends Womanizing Past

Levine, who at a time was rumored to have dated Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson, also admitted that his womanizing persona made him somewhat on the ‘douchebag’ track, but defended his past conquests.

“All of a sudden, I had money in my bank account. I hadn’t had a break in a long time. And I went a little f—king nuts. You know? And good. I deserved to go a little bit nuts. And I had the time of my life,” Levine stated.

While some still criticize Levine for being a ‘modelizer’ – a man who only dates models (Leonardo DiCaprio has also been categorized as such) – for dating an astounding three Victoria’s Secret models in the past five years, Levine says that he doesn’t discriminate based on occupation.

“I don’t date what the person does. I date the f—king person,” Levine said.

The singer is currently engaged to Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo and the two plan on tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in Mexico on July 19.

“I could have been a zitty teenager and walked into a Tower Records, and we would have talked about Pearl Jam, and we would have fallen in love when we were 15. And that’s when you know. It’s like, oh, my God, game over,” Levine said about his bride-to-be.

Levine also mused on the difference between men and women when speaking about his once wild days as a young bachelor. “Men are not as sophisticated as women," he said. "They’re not as mature as women. They’re not as connected with their emotions as women. There’s a very Neanderthal quality that still exists in a lot of men. There’s the carnal s—t you can’t deny…There was a time in my life when I lived probably a bit more on the primal level. And it was amazing.”

Begin Again hits theaters Friday, June 27.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.