J.J. Abrams to critics: Here’s Benedict Cumberbatch in the shower!

OK, class. Time for a pop quiz.

Say you’re top Hollywood filmmaker J.J. Abrams and you’re taking heat for including a seemingly gratuitous shot of a scantily clad Alice Eve in your latest blockbuster, “Star Trek: Into the Darkness.� What do you do to silence your critics?

The answer: You go on “Conan� and share a deleted scene of Benedict Cumberbatch in the shower, that’s what.

On Wednesday the director addressed the minor kerfuffle surrounding a scene in which Capt. Kirk, played by Chris Pine, ogles Eve’s character, who is, for no apparent reason, dressed only in her knickers.

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Now before you say “A gratuitous shot of a scantily clad woman in a big summer movie? I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!�, Abrams claimed that there was in fact an artistic motivation for including the scene. It was meant to provide a break “in the middle of all this action and adventure,� he said, and to reinforce the idea of Capt. Kirk as a ladies’ men.

“Some people felt like it was exploiting her. While she is lovely, I can see their point,� he conceded.

Then, in a move that seemed apologetic and defensive all at once, he offered up an equally titillating deleted scene in which the villain played by Cumberbatch takes a steamy shower as the camera glides over his glistening torso.

While the clip will no doubt thrill “Sherlock� fangirls (and boys) around the globe, it hardly proves that Abrams is an equal-opportunity objectifier: After all, the Cumberbatch scene didn’t actually make the cut, while Eve-in-her-skivvies did.

But never mind that because hey, look, there’s Sherlock Holmes in the shower -- and we didn’t have to pay $12.50 to see him!

ALSO:

Alice Eve lingerie in ‘Star Trek’ might be misogynistic, writer says

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’: Benedict Cumberbatch enjoys being villain

Director J.J. Abrams on ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’: ‘Spectacle is irrelevant’

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