Britain bars controversial 'pick up' coach Julien Blanc

(CNN) -- A self-professed American dating expert who has said he feels like the most hated man in the world has been banned from entering another country -- Britain.

The UK has declined to issue a visa to Julien Blanc, an executive coach at Real Social Dynamics, a group that charges clients thousands of dollars to learn what have been described as sexist, misogynistic and violent acts towards women.

Earlier this month, Blanc was forced to leave Australia after an online campaign pushed venues to cancel his bookings, and authorities to revoke his visa.

"This guy wasn't putting forward political ideas. He was putting forward abuse that was derogatory to women and those are values abhorred in this country," Australia's Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told Sky News.

Petitions also call for him to be barred from South Korea, Brazil,Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and Iceland.

Hashtag campaign

I'm just romping through the streets, just grabbing girls' heads, just like, head, pfft on the dick.
Julien Blanc

Blanc first attracted attention with a video where he described his exploits in Tokyo, Japan, telling rows of seated men, "If you're a white male you can do what you want."

Outraged by what she saw, Washington-based Jennifer Li started a Twitter account and hashtag to #takedownjulienblanc, which has since inspired aFacebook page of the same name.

A portion of Blanc's message to clients about Tokyo was quoted in a Change.Org petition signed by 150,000 people to ban his entry to the UK.

"I'm just romping through the streets, just grabbing girls' heads, just like, head, pfft on the dick. Head, on the dick, yelling, 'pikachu,' with a pikachu shirt," he said.

Writing in Japansubculture, Li said: "I was outraged, with him especially. How dare he violate these Japanese women's spaces! How dare he pass on his disgusting views and methods onto other men! This guy was in essence, assaulting women and getting away with it. And not just getting away with it -- he was REWARDED for it. I could not believe that he could go about doing this without consequences."

In his first interview since the storm of criticism sought to shut down his seminars, Blanc told CNN's Chris Cuomo said he'd been "overwhelmed" by the online campaign against him.Blanc issues apology

"I feel horrible," he said. "I'm not going to feel happy to feel like the most hated man in the world."

Any system for chatting up women is in itself questionable, but any that's based on objectifying or undermining women I'd never, never, never, never endorse.
Russell Brand

Blanc said he was "extremely sorry" to anyone he had offended.

Asked to explain images showing him clutching women's throats, posted with the hashtag #ChokingGirlsAroundTheWorld, he said: "They were a horrible attempt at humor." But he also added "they were taken out of context."

"How could they be taken out of context?" Cuomo asked.

Blanc said: "You can make anything look bad in a picture."

Blanc said his courses were designed to "teach guys how to gain confidence.. in order to socialize with women and perhaps get into a relationship with a woman."

On Tuesday, actor Russell Brand distanced himself from the controversy after he was asked to explain a photo that showed him with his arm around Blanc's shoulders.

In a video tweeted to his 8.5 million followers, Brand said, "I never knew who that was... people come up to me all the time."

Referring to Blanc's training, Brand said: "Any system for chatting up women is in itself questionable, but any that's based on objectifying or undermining women I'd never, never, never, never endorse."