"I meant it as a joke," Gayle wrote of his comment to McLaughlin.
"I meant it as a little fun. I didn't mean to be disrespectful and I didn't mean it to be taken serious. Channel 10's commentary team could be heard laughing in the background, and even their own official Twitter account joined in: "Gayle to Mel: 'Hopefully we can win this and have a drink after. Don't blush baby #smooth'."
"But someone up above them clearly decided to step in, and a throwaway comment in a fun format escalates and blows up and within hours it has turned into a major international incident.
"Suddenly I'm the number one thing trending on Twitter worldwide. Kim Kardashian is nowhere.
"It all came down upon me. Ex-cricketers and former teammates bringing things up, making comments to the media, saying things they had never said to my face."
The 36-year-old saved his most heated criticism for Flintoff.
"People I thought I could trust, suddenly turning into cartoon characters," Gayle wrote.
"Andrew Flintoff, tweeting it out: "Big fan of @henrygayle but made himself look a bit of a chop there.
"This coming from a man who admitted he took Viagra during a Test match. Freddie Flintstone, a young boy like you taking Viagra? Don't lecture me. The only chop Freddie knows is when he used to bowl short to me and I would chop him past backward point for four."
Flintoff did actually confirm he once took three Viagra pills in the middle of a Test Match and got himself run out the next day because he couldn't run properly.
Gayle said Rogers and Chappell were also out of line.
Chappell called for Gayle to be banned from the Big Bash after his interview with McLaughlin. The West Indian was fined $10,000, but Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland has since confirmed Gayle will be allowed to return to the Big Bash next season.
"Then it was former Aussie opener Chris Rogers, acting more like Roger Rabbit, claiming I'd led young players astray when we'd played together at Sydney Thunder," Gayle wrote.
"Chris Rogers, how can you claim that when it was you and me at the bar most nights? I'm not a snitch, but I've heard from your own mouth what you've done. Next time you want to open your mouth, maybe chew on a carrot instead.
"Ian Chappell, calling for me to be banned worldwide. Ian Chappell, a man who was once convicted of unlawful assault in the West Indies for punching a cricket official. Ian Chappell, how can you ban the Universe Boss? You'd have to ban cricket itself."
He said he learned from the entire saga.
Clearly he didn't learn a lot.
On Saturday (NZT) Gayle crossed the line with another female sports reporter.
In an interview with journalist Charlotte Edwardes from The Times, Gayle asked if she had ever had a threesome and asked how many black men she has slept with.
He also told the reporter she would need two hands to lift his "very, very big bat".
