Sharon Stone has urged people to "grow some empathy" and described cancel culture as the "stupidest thing" she's ever seen.
The actress, 63, made the comments during an interview on SiriusXM's Just Jenny show, where she was promoting her new memoir The Beauty of Living Twice, which is being released this month.
According to an extract published in Vanity Fair, Stone opens up about her experiences on the set of the film that catapulted her to stardom, 1992's Basic Instinct.
This includes the revelation that she had no idea that the famous leg-crossing scene would show her genitals.
Discussing cancel culture with Jennifer Koppelman Hutt, Stone said: "I think cancel culture is the stupidest thing I have ever seen happen. I think when people say things that they feel and mean, and it's offensive to you, it's a brilliant opportunity for everyone to learn and grow and understand each other.
"We all come from different ages, different cultures, different backgrounds, different things, and have had different experiences, different traumas, different upbringings, different parents, different religious backgrounds, different everything."
Stone continued: "Give people an opportunity to discuss things before you wipe out their entire person over a statement or a comment or a misunderstanding. Stop being so small. The world is bigger. People have done so much more than one sentence. Like grow up. Grow some empathy."
In her upcoming memoir, of which an excerpt has been obtained and shared by Vanity Fair, the actress spoke candidly about how she was deceived into removing her underwear for the iconic Basic Instinct scene.
Stone claims that she was asked to remove her underwear after being told by a member of the production team: "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."
However, she recalling the moment she saw the scene for the first time, Stone writes: "After we shot Basic Instinct, I got called in to see it. Not on my own with the director, as one would anticipate, given the situation that has given us all pause, so to speak, but with a room full of agents and lawyers, most of whom had nothing to do with the project.
"That was how I saw my vagina-shot for the first time."
Perhaps anticipating backlash for telling her point of view, Stone then recalls how there have been "many points of view on this topic", but that all the other points of view are "bulls**t".
The Beauty of Living Twice will be available for purchase from March 30.
