Sanrio (by way of Hello Kitty herself) has apologized to male fans for being embarrassed about liking the brand. However, she quickly defended them as well.

Sanrio opened a Hello Kitty YouTube channel last year, and in a recent video the character conducted a Q & A. At 2:17 above (please note the above video has English captions), an anonymous question asks “Please resolve the problem that people give weird looks to guys that love Kitty!”

Hello Kitty replies that it is “absolutely OK,” seemingly blaming herself for not shirking the public image of being a primarily female brand, and hoping in the future, everyone can enjoy anything without judgement.

“About this, let me keep saying this! It’s absolutely OK! The problem is greatly related to the lack of my efforts… I haven’t been able to get away from the public image that I am only for women… So I’m very sorry if you are having a hard time…

In the future, however, it would be nice if the world would become a place where everyone’s favorite things were not denied to them, regardless of their image. So I’ll work really hard on that!”

What hobbies and interests are you embarrassed about? Sound off in the comments below!