Sharon Stone claims she lost custody of her kid due to a moment in the film Basic Instinct.
The actor Sharon Stone had argued that judicial prejudice caused her to lose custody of her son when the presiding judge in her 2004 divorce case asked the four-year-old whether he knew his mother did “sex pictures.”
Stone said on the Table for Two podcasts that her involvement in Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 psychological film Basic Instinct was “weaponized against her” in the custody battle over her son, Roan, whom she had adopted with her then-husband Phil Bronstein in 2000.
“I was denied custody of my child,” Stone explained. “When the judge asked my little boy, ‘Do you know your mother makes sex movies?’ Like, this kind of system abuse – I was asked what kind of parent I was because I created that movie.”
Stone went on, referring to the famed interrogation scene in Basic Instinct in which her genitals are briefly revealed.
“People are walking around naked on regular TV now, and you saw maybe a 16th of a second of possible nudity from me – and I lost custody of my child,” she explained. “Are you serious?”
Stone was granted visitation privileges to her now 22-year-old son. According to her, the judge’s judgment contributed to her being brought to the hospital later that year with cardiac difficulties. “That destroyed my heart,” Stone added. “That tore my heart open.”
The glancing nudity has defined Stone’s long career in Basic Instinct. The actor expressed disappointment when colleagues laughed when her name was read out as a candidate at the 1993 Golden Globes ceremony.
“That was dreadful. I felt so humiliated,” Stone admitted. “Does anyone know how difficult it was to portray that part? How heartbreaking! How terrifying!”
“To carry this sophisticated film that was breaking all bounds and that everyone was rebelling against, as well as the pressure. I tried out for it for nine months. They made it available to 13 other individuals, and now you’re laughing at me. All I wanted to do was crawl into a hole.”
Stone published her memoir, The Beauty of Living Again, last year. She reaffirmed her conviction that Verhoeven misled her into exposing herself, claiming she had no idea such a shot would be used until she was in a screening with agents and lawyers.
“It was the first time I saw my naked shot, long after being informed, ‘We can’t see anything – I just need you to remove your underwear, as the white reflects the light, so we know you have panties on,’” Stone wrote. “Now, here’s the problem. That was no longer relevant. Up there, it was just me and my pieces. I needed to make a decision.”
According to Stone, she then proceeded to the projection booth and slapped Verhoeven across the face. He has long stated that she was always aware of the nudity.
