How Sharon Stone Feels About Her Infamous Basic Instinct Scene

If you grew up in the '90s, you heard about Sharon Stone's infamous leg-crossing scene in Paul Verhoeven's classic, "Basic Instinct," one way or another. Whether it was from your classmates, your friends, your cousins, or your dad covering your eyes in a moment of panic, not knowing what was coming in that interrogation scene, you somehow found out what happened in that scene. What you may not know is how that star-making moment (not written in the screenplay) came about and the scandalous aftermath it caused for the actress (and the director) for years to come.

Famously, Stone had claimed (in her autobiography, "The Beauty of Living Twice") she was tricked by Verhoeven before shooting the scene, saying the director asked her to take off her panties not to reflect the lighting while assuring the actress her genitals wouldn't be shown. According to her, when she saw the final take of the scene, she went to the projection booth, slapped the director in the face, and then stormed out to call her lawyer. But if you ask Verhoeven (and many journalists did), he'd say none of that is true. After denying this allegation multiple times, the Dutch filmmaker stated that Stone knew exactly what she was doing. And the reason for that is that Verhoeven told her the personal anecdote that inspired the scene. He said:

"My memory is that it (that scene) is all based on a woman that I met when I was a student in Leiden, at the university. She would do that – she would come up to us and she would open her legs. My friend and I saw her doing that, so went up to her and said something like, 'We can see your vagina.' And then she said, 'Of course – that's why I'm doing it!'"

However, that's all water under the bridge now. Stone says she's on good terms with Verhoeven and would work with him again if given the chance. And regarding that scene...

In a recent interview with Business Insider, Stone was asked about her "Basic Instinct" villain and whether she'd play the character all over again, knowing the repercussions that iconic role caused her. Retaining that enigmatic allure that made her such a fascinating woman to watch on and off-screen, she said:

"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. What I did with what happened is exactly the way I wanted to do it. Verhoeven and I have a wonderful relationship. We both understand. Even though we have different public ways of discussing it, we understand very well what happened regarding the crotch scene.

Once I had time to calm down, I didn't make him take it out of the movie when I had the legal right to. So I did have the chance to do it differently, and I didn't because once I had the chance to step back, I understood, as the director, not the girl in the film, that that made the movie better."

At 67, that's a pretty badass statement, but you wouldn't expect anything less from the icon who ruled and reinvigorated the erotic thriller genre in the 1990s. And if you want a deeper and more elaborate explanation about how she feels about the scene that brought her both fame and scrutiny, you should check out the speech she gave five years ago when GQ chose her the Woman of the Year. Luckily, we also don't need to wait too long to see Stone in her full glory again on the big and small screen. She'll appear in the upcoming sequel, "Nobody 2," as well as in the third and final season of Sam Levinson's controversial teen drama, "Euphoria."