Sean Hunter is the man in the infamous holiday ad who gifts his wife a Peloton bike. When he's not acting he's an elementary school teacher ... and he's defending himself, and the controversial ad, in Psychology Today .. of all places.

Sean says initial reviews of his Peloton gig were mostly positive, but everything changed when the ad went viral. Now, his take is, "My 5 seconds of air time created an array of malicious feedback that is all associated with my face."

He adds, "My friend texted me today declaring that I’m ‘a symbol of the patriarchy' ... As my face continues to be screen shot online, I wonder what repercussions will come back to me."

Sean says he's "grappling with the negative opinions as none of them have been constructively helpful."

If it makes him feel better ... at least some of the memes about the ad have clearly been in jest -- and even comedian Sherri Shepherd had a laugh over it.

Anyways, the criticism is clearly doing a number on Sean, and he posed a laundry list of questions. "As I continue to reflect on the commercial, I consider these thoughts: Why are people creating so many additional narratives to the story? Am I allowed to view the commercial positively after receiving such negative feedback? If recognized on the street, what will people’s first opinions be of me?"

He also wonders if his "wife" in the ad is going through the same thing he is. For what it's worth, she's chosen to remain silent since all the buzz over the ad.

Guess Sean ain't buying Peloton's company line that folks actually like the ad.