CEE LO EXPLAINS WHY HE CHANGED THE LYRICS TO IMAGINE!

Cee Lo Green says he added an endorsement of religion to John Lennon's "Imagine" out of "peace and love and unity," not disrespect.

Speaking to TV critics here on Friday, Green gave his most explicit apology yet for the lyrical alteration during his New Year's Eve performance in Times Square.

He changed the lyrics of Lennon's song from "And no religion, too" to "And all religion's true."

Lennon fans sharply criticized Green for the change, and he tweeted in his defense that "I was trying to say a world were u could believe what u wanted that's all."

After further criticism he deleted the tweet.

But it came up during a panel on "The Voice," the NBC show on which he is a judge.

When the question was asked, fellow panelist Christina Aguilera jumped in and said, "No, no, no, we're here to talk about the show."

Green acknowledged the question, repeated his disclaimer and brought the subject back to the show, but not before declaring that he "meant no disrespect to anyone, including John Lennon.

"You may say I'm a dreamer," he added, quoting another line from the song.

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