The only defence would be claiming a deep social naivety about how things work, but that appeal shows way too much self-awareness not to contradict that claim.

This is a feminized defense that only works in a feminized society, and judging from some of his other comments ("I'm accustomed to a certain lifestyle"), this guy is a a thot-level sociopath. I have seen this line (or a knockoff of it) from a handful of women who got Peter Principled in over their heads, compensated by creating a culture of "Yes, Ma'ams", and crashed their organization.