'Devastated': Anne Hathaway fires up on live TV about no-undies wardrobe malfunction

Anne Hathaway handled a tricky interview on the US Today show like a pro when host Matt Lauer didn't beat around the bush about the star's wardrobe malfunction at the Les Misérables US premiere on Monday night.

Photographs emerged yesterday of the 30-year-old actress wearing no underwear as she stepped onto the red carpet.

"We've seen a lot of you lately," Matt said. "Let's get it out of the way, the wardrobe malfunction the other night. What's the lesson learned from something like that, other than you keep smiling, which you always do?"

Anne, obviously awkward, labelled the incident "unfortunate" and "sad", before hammering home a killer response attacking the culture of objectifying "unwilling participants".

Watch her full response above. What a comeback!

The incident that some are calling "Full Hathaway-gate". Images: Splash

Anne brought the topic back to her role as a starving prostitute and single mother in Les Mis, comparing the way her character Fantine is forced to sell sex in the same way that celebrities do.

The actress was allegedly heard telling a Vanity Fair writer that the incident was "devastating".

"They saw everything. I might as well have lifted up my skirt for them," Anne reportedly told the writer, according to the New York Daily News.