"I don't think I quite edited the scene in the right way..." admitted JJ Abrams on Conan O'Brien's show, discussing the whole Alice Eve underwear moment in Star Trek Into Darkness.

I'm not normally in the habit of blogging news stories that are reported on other sites already - trailers/posters aside, because I like trailers and posters - but after going to such efforts to explain why Alice Eve takes off her clothes in the middle of a sci-fi flick, it seems relevant to mention.

Abrams spoke to Conan about the scene, which lots of other people have also found to be sexist. He argued that it was a matter of balance, because Chris Pine is seen without his top in an earlier scene, then whipped out a clip of Benedict Cumberbatch in the shower to prove how non-sexist the film was, despite the fact that the footage was cut from the movie. (The clip, below, has since been picked up by websites galore using screencaps of the video alongside such SEO-friendly phrases as "Benedict Cumberbatch shower scene".)

Full credit to Abrams for addressing the debate head-on instead of ignoring it. He was joined by Damon Lindelof, a man who is no stranger to angry people on the internet, in commenting on the response. "I copped to the fact that we should have done a better job of not being gratuitous in our representation of a barely clothed actress," Lindelof tweeted. "We also had Kirk shirtless in underpants in both movies. Do not want to make light of something that some construe as [sic] mysogenistic. What I'm saying is I hear you, I take responsibility and will be more mindful in the future." Slightly less credit to Abrams, though, for also admitting that he "didn't see what the fuss was about".

Alice Eve can still be seen in her undies in UK cinemas now.