Michael Bolton: Women ‘basically own me’

Pop crooner Michael Bolton (sans his signature long locks, which he chopped off in the ’90s) was spotted among a cadre of lawmakers and about a half-dozen female advocates at a Tuesday press conference held by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

We hear some reporters were puzzled by the “When a Man Loves a Woman” singer’s presence, especially after Bolton didn’t utter a peep at the presser (despite appearing to have remarks prepared).

{mosads}Murray, joined at the event by Sens. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), warned she wouldn’t support a compromise with the House on the Violence Against Women Act that gutted key Senate provisions.

After the press conference wrapped up, Bolton, a father to three grown daughters, told journos he has been working for years to raise awareness for at-risk women and children who have left their homes because of domestic violence.

The “Dancing With the Stars” alum, 59, joked, “I’m surrounded by women. They basically own me,” before adding, “but the thought of violence being directed toward them, violence in their home, is unacceptable.”

Russell Berman contributed to this report.