Sharon Stone has spoken candidly about sexual harassment in the film industry, in the wake of the #MeToo and ‘Time’s Up’ movements.
Last year’s allegations against key industry figures such as Harvey Weinstein have led to a conversation about sexual misconduct across various different fields, with particular emphasis on Hollywood.
When asked whether this was something she’d experienced herself during an interview on ‘CBS Sunday’, Sharon let out a laugh, declaring she’d “seen it all” throughout her career.
She told presenter Lee Cowan: “I’ve been in this business for 40 years, Lee. Can you imagine the business I stepped into 40 years ago? Looking like I look? From nowhere Pennsylvania?
“I didn’t come here with any protection. I’ve seen it all.”
Among Sharon’s most prominent roles was her portrayal of Catherine Tramell in ‘Basic Instinct’, famed for its “interrogation” scene.
In 2014, Sharon admitted that she hadn’t anticipated how explicit the scene would be, claiming: “When we [filmed] it, it was going to be an innuendo and the director [Paul Verhoeven] said, ‘We’re seeing the white of your underwear, I need you to take them off.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t want you to see anything’ and he’s like, ‘No, no you’re not going to.’
“So I gave him the underwear, put them in the pocket of his shirt, and he said, ‘Now watch on the monitor...’ In those days... it’s not like now where everything is high definition, and when I looked at the monitor you really couldn’t see anything.”
She continued: “When I saw it in the theatre, with a bunch of other people, I was [in shock].
“When the film ended I went in the booth and I slapped [Paul Verhoeven] and I said, ‘You could have showed me this to me by myself’.”
Sharon’s comments come shortly after ‘Harry Potter’ star Emma Watson said she’d “experienced the full spectrum” of “systemic” and “structural” harassment.