A French comic may have intended his ‘air sex’ video as a joke, but it's been widely rebuked online for glorifying “rape culture”.

In the clip titled ‘Free sex’, which has racked up 3.3 million views in a matter of days, French comic Rémi Gaillard uses visual perspective pranks to make it look like he is having sex with unsuspecting women in public.

The reaction has been swift and firmly negative from many observers.

Writer Dom Bochel Guégan wrote on the website of French magazine Nouvel Observateur that the video is a “trivialization of the sexual violence of which we have been or will be one day the victim of.”

She noted the response on Gaillard’s Facebook page was mixed, with his defenders being “very, very much guys, which is to say people who have never been solely considered as being a sexual object.”

Another viewer wrote in a Tweet: “Dear Rémi Gaillard, keeping up rape culture is not funny. It's deplorable.” 

Cher Rémi Gaillard, entretenir la culture du viol ce n'est pas marrant. C'est affligeant.

— Georgia Biskop (@JuliaDoodley) March 28, 2014

For his part Gaillard is not backing down and on Sunday he thanked his supporters in a Facebook post.

“The first estimates from YouTube at midday: 2,510,583 views – 67,078 likes – 4,853 dislikes. Thank you for voting en masse…for the freedom of expression,” Gaillard wrote.

Have a look for yourself. Funny or offensive?