He very much did mean he beats women who annoy him.

1987, he elaborated on his quotes to Playboy. "I haven't changed my opinion... If you have tried everything else – and women are pretty good at this – they can't leave it alone. They want to have the last word and you give them the last word, but they're not happy with the last word. They want to say it again, and get into a really provocative situation, then I think it's absolutely right,"

Six years after THAT

"Sometimes there are women who take it to the wire. That's what they're looking for, the ultimate confrontation—they want a smack."

Stop trying to defend him, mythologise him or bring fcking self defense into this. It's disgusting