Rapper Pitbull has apologised for poking fun at embattled actress Lindsay Lohan in the lyrics of his hit single Give Me Everything, insisting he did not mean to hurt her.

The Mean Girls star slapped Pitbull with a lawsuit last week (begs18Aug11) for exploiting her name in the tune, a former number one.

In the song, co-written by Ne-Yo, the hip-hop star rhymes, "Hustlers move aside, so I'm tiptoeing, keep flowin'/I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan" - lyrics which Lohan claims are defamatory and destined to cause irreparable harm.

The actress is currently seeking an injunction to stop the broadcast of the song, and now Pitbull has responded.

In an interview on fansite PlanetPit.com, he says, "I was very surprised when I found out about the lawsuit... When I mentioned Lindsay Lohan in the record it was really a positive message... If you play in the park, if you from the neighbourhood, when they say you got it locked, you got it locked up, that means you run that area...

"I didn't look to defamate (sic), degrade or hurt someone's career. For me mentioning it... on the number one record in the world... I thought it would be helping someone's career and keeping them relevant."

At the end of the interview the smooth rapper invites Lohan along to be his date at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (28Aug11), when he's set to perform the song.

Lindsay Lohan is attempting to repair her image and reputation following a string of legal woes over the past 18 months, which resulted in stints behind bars, in rehab and at her Venice, California property under house arrest.