The Raunchy Deleted Scene Officially Deemed Too Sexy For Star Trek

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 2 days ago

Sex has been a part of Star Trek since the beginning: Orion slave girls, tiny skirts, and romance with babes around the galaxy were part and parcel of The Original Series. Since then, the franchise tried to be more overtly erotic, like when Star Trek: Enterprise made disrobing and giving each other body massages a regular part of the plot. However, Deep Space Nine eventually took things too far by filming a nude scene with the character Leeta that was removed from an episode for being “too sexy for Star Trek.”

This happened during the production of “Let He Who Is Without Sin,” a controversial DS9 episode featuring the pleasure planet known as Risa. When Worf and Jadzia Dax decide to work on their relationship through a vacation to the planet, Chase Masterson’s Leeta character (along with Dr. Bashir and Quark) tags along. Despite dating Bashir, she has a variety of sensual encounters with the natives before revealing that she and the good doctor had broken up and were both engaging in a Bajoran ritual known as the “Rite of Separation.”

Leeta’s Risan Vacation

Leeta had always been a blatant part of Deep Space Nine’s eye candy, and this Dabo girl often wore outfits meant to accentuate her bountiful assets. However, she took things to the next level in “Let He Who Is Without Sin” during a scene featuring a handsome native in a purple mesh tank top. His function in the story (before he learns about the Rite of Separation) is to make Worf suspect that Leeta is cheating on Dr. Bashir.

In the broadcast episode of “Let He Who Is Without Sin,” we see Leeta getting a sensual massage from this man at the beginning of the second act. Worf predictably freaks out because he is worried about this Bajoran baddie two-timing Dr. Bashir. However, if Worf had walked in during the original version of this scene, he probably would have died of shock.

The Scene Officially Too Sexy For Star Trek

When the first version of this scene was filmed, Leeta was completely naked and awaiting her massage. The man in the tank top obliges her before the two hold hands in an unmistakably intimate gesture. Speaking of intimate, he’s seeing a lot, which better explains Worf’s reaction. Worf’s not just seeing what he thinks is a blatant affair, but he’s also seeing way more of Leeta than he ever intended.

There was plenty of naughty content the Deep Space Nine writers and producers wanted to include in “Let He Who Is Without Sin” to illustrate that Risa was an uninhibited and permissive planet. However, the network told them early on they wouldn’t be able to include most of it, which rightfully annoyed showrunner Ira Steven Behr. He would later gripe that not only did they have to cover up everyone’s bodies with swimsuits, but that the swimsuits weren’t even particularly attractive.   

However, the cast and crew decided to go for it with the unclothed Leeta scene. They went ahead and filmed Leeta and her Risian buddy getting cozy without proper attire.

The scene was very, very hot, and you can still get a glimpse of it in the original 30-second preview for “Let He Who Is Without Sin.” But it never showed up in the final broadcast, and Chase Masterston has been receiving questions for decades about what happened to this naughty little moment on Deep Space Nine.

The Star Trek Actress Too Hot For TV

Eventually, Chase Masterson spilled the beans in an interview with StarTrek.com, telling the outlet that after doing the scene, she was called into executive producer Rick Berman’s office. There, she received some bad news wrapped in a compliment: “We have to reshoot the massage scene because it’s too sexy for Star Trek,” he said. Jokingly, Masterson replied, “thank you” before adding, “I mean–I’m sorry!”

Again, the franchise has had plenty of raunchy scenes over the decades. But this is the one scene, straight from Berman’s mouth, that is officially too sexy for the franchise. Despite the lessened sex appeal, Masterson thinks that the changes to this scene were for the better.

Looking back on it, the actor now thinks that the new scene is “much more elegantly done than the original.” That may be the case, but most fans would prefer the original. It’s enough to make us ask: if the Deep Space Nine producers went ahead and shot that kind of scene, just how freaky were the ideas that got shot down before they were ever filmed?!?