What to Know
Sharon Stone is perhaps best known for the erotic (and controversial) leg-crossing scene in Basic Instinct. Given that she was widely perceived as a sex symbol after her role in that film, Sharon’s views on sex scenes might come as a surprise. During a recent appearance on CBS Mornings, Sharon, 68, suggested that the way sex is depicted on TV today is too much for her, to the point that she actually skips those scenes.
In Basic Instinct‘s interrogation scene, Sharon was not wearing underwear, which might not feel even the slightest bit subtle. But Sharon thinks there’s a key difference between that scene and modern sex scenes.
It’s all about the “yearning.”
Reflecting on the scene in Basic Instinct, Sharon said, “People were desperately trying to figure it out.” And according to her, the unknown is what made the scene so much more intriguing. “I think that that idea of, ‘Oh my God,’ this hope, this wonder, this hope, this intrigue, this yearning is something that all of our profound sexuality is based in,” she explained.
So, now, when she’s watching TV, she skips past the sex scenes a lot of the time. They don’t leave enough to the imagination. “When sex scenes come on TV, I fast-forward,” Sharon said. “I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to have to go through all of this blatant, harsh sexuality. For me, it steals from my own imagination, and I prefer my yearning, mystery, desire; I want to keep that alive inside myself.”
People treated her poorly after Basic Instinct came out.
During that same interview, Sharon talked about how the controversial role affected her. Although the role got her a lot of attention, much of it was negative. “I feel like I wasn’t protected and taken care of,” she admitted. “…People treated me in ways that were very cruel and unkind, as if I was some sort of slatternly, vulgar person. I played a character, 30 years ago, grow up.”
She touched on this during an interview with Business Insider last year as well. “It made me an icon, but it didn’t bring me respect,” she said at the time. And, yeah, being a well-known actress and a respected actress are, unfortunately, two different things sometimes.
While on CBS Mornings, Sharon said she still thinks the entertainment industry is difficult to navigate as a woman. But there is one thing that has made a difference for her.
“It’s still really hard, I think, for women,” she said. “I don’t think that it has changed so much. I think, though, that women have changed very much. And I think that the way women support each other and love each other has changed tremendously.”
Previously, Sharon went viral when she defended a controversial woman.
She seemed to be practicing what she preaches when asked about one of her Euphoria co-stars in 2025. A few months after Sydney Sweeney’s involvement in an American Eagle campaign sparked immense backlash, a Variety reporter asked Sharon what she thought of the controversy.
Sharon acted like people were mad at Sydney for being “hot” and using her sexuality to make money and get ahead. In reality, many critics argued that the American Eagle campaign promoted eugenics. “It’s okay to use what mama gave you. It’s really fine,” Sharon said in Sydney’s defense. “It’s hard to be hot, and I think we all know that. It’s really okay to use every bit of hotness you have — right here, right now — and go for whatever that is.”
Given how much she was judged for her scandalous scene in Basic Instinct, perhaps she was speaking from personal experience and wanting to defend other women in a similar position. However, critics argued that she was totally missing the point.
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