Sharon Stone Reveals the Untold Reason She Stayed Silent About That Iconic Scene—23 Years Later

Isn’t it bizarre how a single cinematic moment—just a flicker of a cross and uncross—can shape an entire career, ignite culture wars, and even end up in a courtroom? Sharon Stone, that encyclopedia of femme fatale charisma, knows this all too well . Sure, most ’90s kids remember her as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct, flanked by a white dress, a nonchalant cigarette, and a room full of suspicious detectives…but the world didn’t just watch the scene—it practically combusted over it . And why on earth, after all the scandal and backlash (not to mention playground gossip and primetime TV debates), didn’t Stone demand the infamous leg-crossing scene be cut? If you think Hollywood’s wildest controversies are all smoke and mirrors, wait till you hear what it cost her—far more than just a reputation as the boldest sex symbol of the decade . Let’s just say the answer digs deeper than any movie script . Intrigued? LEARN MORE.

Sharon Stone has explained why she didn’t get her notorious leg-crossing scene cut.

The 67-year-old is well known around the world for her role as Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct, with a number of other films to her name such as Casino, Catwoman and The Laundromat.

With her string of performances as femme fatales and ‘women of mystery’, the Oscar-nominated actor became one of the biggest sex symbols of the 90s.

But Stone’s infamous moment in the erotic thriller 23 years ago has faced controversy since its release with it getting backlash at the time.

Her role was of course the crime author-turned-serial-killer who faced an investigation from Detective Nick Curran (played by Michael Douglas).

And in case you’re of a generation that still has no clue what I’m talking about, the scene is so famous because she was flying commando.

She faced scrutiny over the role in the 90s (Stefania D’Alessandro/Getty Images)

Basically, facing a room full of blokes in suits for questioning, she sat in a short white dress and jacket, cigarette in hand with her legs crossed.

She then uncrosses her legs to recross them again, revealing the fact she wasn’t wearing any underwear.

But while some hailed the scene, others scrutinised Stone and there was even claims she lost custody of her son because of it.

“When the judge asked my child – my tiny little boy, ‘Do you know your mother makes sex movies?’ This kind of abuse by the system, that it was considered what kind of parent I was because I made that movie,” she previously said on the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast. “People are walking around with no clothes on at all on regular TV now and you saw maybe like a sixteenth of a second of possible nudity of me – and I lost custody of my child.”

And in a new interview, Stone has discussed not choosing to force the director, Paul Verhoeven, to cut the scene from Basic Instinct.

It’s an infamous movie scene (TriStar Pictures)

“I very much believe that none of us knew at the time what we were getting in regard to that shot, and when Paul got it, he didn’t want to lose it, and he was scared to show me. And I get that,” she told Business Insider.

Despite saying she had the ‘legal right’ to do so, Stone added: “Once I had time to calm down, I didn’t make him take it out of the movie.”

She said that she didn’t do so because once she stepped back: “I understood, as the director, not the girl in the film, that that made the movie better.”

Stone said she would work with Verhoeven ‘again in a second’ and was asked if she regretted taking the role.

“It made me an icon, but it didn’t bring me respect. But would I do it again? We don’t get to make these choices in life. I don’t participate in the fantasy world in this way,” the star admitted.