Pat Benatar protests gun violence by refusing to sing 'Hit Me with Your Best Shot'

If you were hoping to hear Pat Benatar perform her hit classic "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" in concert any time soon, you're out of luck.

The Grammy winner told USA Today on Thursday that she has retired the song from her concert lineups, to protest gun violence.

"I'm sorry, in deference to the victims of the families of these mass shootings, I'm not singing it," she told the outlet.

"[The title] is tongue-in-cheek, but you have to draw the line. I can't say those words out loud with a smile on my face, I just can't," the rocker continued. "I'm not going to go on stage and soap box -- I go to my legislators -- but that's my small contribution to protesting."

Benatar, 69, said that as much as fans may want her to perform the song, off her 1980 sophomore album, "Crimes of Passion," it's not going to happen. "I'm not going to sing it," she said. "Tough."

In place of "Hit Me with Your Best Shot," she told the outlet, "We're doing a lot of songs we don't always play, like 'In the Heat of the Night' and 'I Need a Lover.'"

Benatar also reflected on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that enshrined abortion as a constitutional right.

"I'm worried, like all of us, about fundamental autonomy rights. This is a slippery slope," she said. "It's not about abortion for me. I'm concerned that people are not paying attention to what this actually means."

Because of that, Benatar said her song "Invincible" is more important than ever.