Sharon Stone has opened up about the unique bond she shares with Britney Spears, who recently cited the Basic Instinct actor as one of her personal inspirations.
Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Wednesday, Sharon said Britney reached out to her for help sometime around 2007, when the pop star was making global headlines.
“Britney wrote to me a very long and important, poignant letter during a very difficult time in her life ― about the time when people would recognise her for when she shaved her head ― wanting me to help her,” Sharon told Kelly.
“I was in a very difficult time of my life and I couldn’t help myself. The truth of the matter is, we both needed help. She needed help and I needed help.”
The Academy Award nominee had been asked to comment on a photo of her that Britney posted to Instagram last week as part of a series that included Miley Cyrus and Sarah Jessica Parker.
“These are the women that have truly inspired my life,” the singer wrote in the accompanying caption, adding, “These cool ladies always add a spark to my day.”
In her chat with Kelly, Sharon didn’t share whether she and Britney connected again in the years since she received the letter. Nonetheless, she feels a special kinship with the singer, who is in the throes of a legal battle with her father, Jamie Spears, as she fights to regain control of her reported $60 million estate.
“It’s very hard to be a very successful woman and not have anyone control you, taking your finances and handling you,” Sharon said. “Women ― and, I’m sure, all of the young stars ― get handled. There is a huge breaking point and there is a point where you get broken.”
“The thing with Britney Spears is so out of control and so awful,” she continued. “I can say certainly it’s been very out of control and very awful, more than once, in my life.”
Stone is currently promoting a new memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice. In it, she gets candid about her childhood experiences with sexual abuse, her 2001 stroke and, of course, her storied Hollywood journey.
As for Britney, she spoke out this week on Framing Britney Spears, the controversial New York Times-produced documentary examining her father’s conservatorship over her personal and financial affairs as well as the hostile media treatment she’s received throughout her career.
“I didn’t watch the documentary but from what I did see of it, I was embarrassed by the light they put me in,” she wrote on Instagram. “I cried for two weeks and well .... I still cry sometimes.”
Useful websites and helplines
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.