Sharon Stone: I Was 'Swindled' Into Removing Underwear in 'Basic Instinct'

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Sharon Stone said she was furious over being tricked into removing her underwear while filming ‘Basic Instinct’ — read more

Sharon Stone Says She Was Swindled Into Removing Her Underwear for Famous Basic Instinct Scene — Sharon Stone in ‘Basic Instinct.’ StudioCanal/Shutterstock

Sharing her story. Sharon Stone said she was tricked into removing her underwear for a famous Basic Instinct scene in an excerpt from her new book, The Beauty of Living Twice.

“After we shot Basic Instinct, I got called in to see it. Not on my own with the director … but with a room full of agents and lawyers, most of whom had nothing to do with the project,” Stone, 63, recalled in the excerpt, which was published by Vanity Fair on Thursday, March 18.

“That was how I saw my vagina-shot for the first time, long after I’d been told, ‘We can’t see anything — I just need you to remove your panties, as the white is reflecting the light, so we know you have panties on.’ Yes, there have been many points of view on this topic, but since I’m the one with the vagina in question, let me say: The other points of view are bulls—t.”

Stone said that after seeing the scene, she slapped director Paul Verhoeven across the face and called her lawyer, who told her the 1992 movie would not be able to be released as it was.

The lawyer also promised the Casino actress that she could fight to have the scene removed. Stone was relieved … at first.

“Then I thought some more. What if I were the director? What if I had gotten that shot? What if I had gotten it on purpose? Or by accident? What if it just existed? That was a lot to think about,” the Total Recall star wrote.

After explaining her lawyer’s words to Verhoeven, Stone was told she had no say in the matter after all. The lead disagreed.

“But I did have choices. So I thought and thought and I chose to allow this scene in the film. Why? Because it was correct for the film and for the character; and because, after all, I did it,” the Pennsylvania native wrote.

In the excerpt, the iconic actress detailed more ways she was let down throughout her career.

“I had actor approval in my contract. No one cared. They cast who they wanted. To my dismay, sometimes. To the detriment of the picture, sometimes,” she recalled. “I had a producer bring me to his office … he explained to me why I should f—k my costar so that we could have onscreen chemistry.”

After the producer told Stone that he’d used the same technique early in his career with Ava Gardner, the actress noted that the encounter made her realize just how long women had been dealing with the same sort of situation.

“Now just the creepy thought of him in the same room with Ava Gardner gave me pause. Then I realized that she also had to put up with him and pretend that he was in any way interesting.”

The Oscar nominee fought the misogynistic treatment, which caused her to be labeled as “difficult” by her coworkers.

“I’ve had other producers on other films just come to my trailer and ask, ‘So, are you going to f—k him, or aren’t you? … You know it would go better if you did.’” she wrote. “I take my time and explain that I am like the nice girl they grew up with, and get them to recall that girl’s name. This leaves us all with a little bit of our dignity.”