Bruno Mars has poked fun at the news of his radio censorship in Indonesia, insisting his lyrics are nowhere near as "sick" as those of fellow banned musician Ed Sheeran.
A total of 17 pop songs by western acts have been pulled from daytime airwaves in the province of West Java, where more than 46.3 million people live.
Among the songs blacklisted by officials at the local broadcasting commission are Sheeran's Shape of You, Ariana Grande's Love Me Harder, Bruno's That's What I Like, and The Killers' Mr. Brightside.
In an official memorandum, commission chief Dedeh Fardiah claimed the artists' lyrics objectified women as sexual objects, and prohibited the tracks from being played on air between 3am and 10pm, according to The Guardian.
The news took Bruno by surprise and he has since retweeted a TIME magazine article about the ban, titled, "Songs by Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and others have been banned in Indonesia's most populous province".
However, instead of hit out at the restricted airplay, the singer decided to have a little fun with the announcement, instead turning the spotlight on Ed, blaming him for drawing authorities' attention.
"WTF (what the f**k)! I was poppin (popular) in Indonesia!" Bruno exclaimed in mock shock in a series of Twitter posts. "Then here comes @edsheeran with his sick, perverted lyrics, gettin (sic) us all pinched (banned)! Thanks Ed. Thanks a lot".
He then questioned the meaning of some of Ed's lines, highlighting what he joked to be "perverted" in his hit songs.
"'I'm in love with the shape of you?' Really @edsheeran ? You monster!" Bruno quipped. "& don't even get me started on 'Thinking Out Loud.' Have u no shame (sic)?"
Bruno ended his Twitter spree with a lighthearted plea to Indonesian officials to reconsider taking his song off the daytime airwaves.
"Dear Indonesia, I gave u the wholesome hits 'Nothin On You,' 'Just The Way You Are,' & 'Treasure,'" he tweeted. "Don't lump me in with that sexual deviant".
Sheeran has yet to respond to Bruno's teasing.
