Sharon Stone needs no introduction, and for the wrong reason. The actress, though talented and revered, is perhaps most celebrated for a short, controversial moment in the entire history of cinema that's forever etched in many people's — mostly men — brains.
That's of course referring to a scene in Basic Instinct where Stone's character, Catherine Tramell, crosses her legs ever so revealingly that her genitalia is almost, but never actually, seen.
Stone recently sat down for an interview with the CBS Sunday Morning show where she said she's seen Hollywood's darkest sides. Asked if she'd ever faced sexual harassment in Hollywood during her stint as an actress, she just laughed. Literally, she guffawed for a few harrowing seconds before giving a proper follow-up answer.
"I've been in this business for 40 years," Stone told the interviewer. "Can you imagine the business I stepped into 40 years ago? Looking I look? From Nowhere, Pennsylvania — I didn't come here with any protection."
"I've seen it all," Stone said. Frankly, nothing else needs to be said after she delivers that line. One can only imagine the horrors and tumult Stone had faced during her career, especially at a time when Hollywood treated women like commodities — and that reputation has persisted and continues to persist presently.
Stone, who stepped away from the limelight in 2001 after a brain hemorrhage that nearly killed her, attended the 2018 Golden Globes red carpet last week wearing black, in support of the Time's Up movement for sexual assault survivors.
"We're starting to acknowledge our own gifts as women and not think that we have to behave as men in order to be empowered or powerful or valuable," Stone said, in reference to the movement.
You can watch the entire interview below, which also touches on single motherhood, in addition to her stroke and how that affected her acting career. Stone also most recently starred in Mosaic, an interactive murder-mystery series directed by Steven Soderbergh, which is being turned into an HBO miniseries. In it, she plays a popular children's book author who goes missing, and all the men involved in her life become suspects. According to stone, it's a story that bears a provoking and timely attitude toward relationships.
Thoughts about Stone's comments on sexual assault? Do you feel as though Hollywood's reckoning will lead to more women speaking out about their experiences with sexual assault? As always, feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
