Rihanna has defended her controversial B... Better Have My Money video as a "piece of art" following criticism of the promo's scenes of nudity and violence.

The pop star stepped behind the camera to direct the short film, in which she is seen kidnapping and torturing the wife of a man who owes her cash, played by Casino Royale star Mads Mikkelsen.

However, her directorial debut garnered criticism over its explicit scenes, and a number of advertisers on streaming websites such as Vevo.com withdrew their support and refused to let their commercials be shown before Rihanna's promo.

The singer has now spoken out about the controversy and denied claims the video was disrespectful to women.

She tells Britain's NME magazine, "I didn't think about anything that had to do with that (anti-feminism). Wow. And at the end of the day the women won. The b**ch was the man. So I'm confused. Those are the people that didn't get it. I'm not worried about those people. This was not a woman empowerment video. I was making a piece of art."