But I'm not a misogynist.

To no one's real surprise, Denis Leary isn't giving one inch to his critics who say that the rape scene in a recent "Rescue Me" might have been, oh, a bit creepy, and not in a "gee, that Tommy Gavin is creepy" way but in a "gee, that Denis Leary's insistence on using every opportunity to demean and diminish any woman who doesn't measure up to the manly ethos of the firehouse is creepy" way.

Maureen Ryan has tape of FX honcho John Landgraf defending the script, which she promised me she'll transcribe tonight. But this press release from TV Guide gives you as much of a taste as you may need.  Landgraf will provide the larger context ... namely the reason why the only show on FX that is remotely respectful of women is "30 Days." And that was probably by accident.

July 13, 2006 (New York, New York) — In an exclusive interview in the July 24 issue of TV Guide (on newsstands July 20), Rescue Me’s  Denis Leary speaks out about the so-called “rape episode,”  in which his character Tommy Gavin forces himself on his estranged wife Janet (Andrea Roth).

“If people were really watching the show, they wouldn’t be calling it 'the rape episode,'” he says. “The knee-jerk reaction is ‘Oh my God, he raped his wife, and he’s condoning spousal rape.’ I’m sorry, I’ve got female friends who have been through it and don’t think it’s an unhealthy situation. And anybody that says different has either not been through it or is just politically correct and should probably be switching the channel.”