Cuba Gooding Jr. has responded to the heavy criticism he received for lifting Sarah Paulson's dress during a recent PaleyFest panel.

During an American Horror Story panel on March 26, Paulson shrieked and pulled her dress down as he exposed her underwear.

Prior to the incident, she had already playfully slapped Gooding Jr.'s hand away as he pulled at her dress after she had taken her seat on stage.

But the man at the centre of the controversy has defended himself, saying the moment between the two People vs OJ Simpson co-stars was taken out of context.

"I have two sons in college," he told People. "I say to them, 'Guys, the internet, it's a beast. It's an information highway without regulation. Any image you put on there can be interpreted any way it wants to.

"I love the lady that is Sarah Paulson. We have a banter like brother and sister, which is how the spirit of that whole panel was.

"Yet that image was taken out to represent some kind of sexual misconduct, and that wasn't my intent.

FX

"The first person, when I heard about the fervour, I called Sarah. I said, 'I love you, I see you as my sister', and she said, 'I feel the same way about you'.

"And so I let it go."

Gooding Jr. and Paulson appeared opposite one another in the award-winning The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.

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