Amy Poehler brushes off Taylor Swift's 'hell' barb

Amy Poehler has brushed off criticism from Taylor Swift over jokes she made at the singer's expense while co-hosting the Golden Globe Awards.

Poehler and her co-host Tina Fey warned Swift to "stay away from Michael J. Fox's son" and advised her to take "some me time" during their acclaimed hosting performance at the Globes.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the 23-year-old country-pop star admitted she was unhappy to have her love life mocked.

"You know, Katie Couric is one of my favorite people, because she said to me she had heard a quote that she loved, that said, 'There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women," she said.

Poehler, 41, told The Hollywood Reporter she felt bad Swift was upset - but she was not going to hell for her jokes.

"Aw, I feel bad if she was upset. I am a feminist, and she is a young and talented girl. That being said, I do agree I am going to hell. But for other reasons. Mostly boring tax stuff. "

The industry paper also pointed out Poehler runs a YouTube channel aimed at empowering young girls.

Swift - who has dated Harry Styles, Conor Kennedy, Jake Gyllenhaal and John Mayer - also claimed speculation about her love life has been widely exaggerated and insisted she has only dated two people since 2010.

She said: "If you want some big revelation, since 2010 I have dated exactly two people ... the fact that there are slide shows of a dozen guys that I either hugged on a red carpet or met for lunch or wrote a song with ... it's just kind of ridiculous. It's why I have to avoid the tabloid part of our culture, because they turn you into a fictional character.

"For a female to write about her feelings, and then be portrayed as some clingy, insane, desperate girlfriend in need of making you marry her and have kids with her, I think that's taking something that potentially should be celebrated - a woman writing about her feelings in a confessional way - that's taking it and turning it and twisting it into something that is frankly a little sexist."

- additional reporting Bang! Showbiz