Sharon Stone asked a British TV host to “restart” in an awkward exchange during an interview on Thursday.
While appearing on UK breakfast show Good Morning Britain, co-host Ed Balls – the UK’s former treasurer turned media personality – asked the actress about her previous comments about being told to sleep with a co-star.
“Sharon, you are campaigning to improve mental health and support for people with the World Health Organisation,” he began.
“There’s been a huge change because of the Me Too movement, conviction of Harvey Weinstein, a different place now I hope the film industry in Los Angeles compared to when you were there.
“When you look back on those early points in your career, the fact that Hollywood producer Robert Evans advised you to have sex with your fellow lead William Baldwin in the ’93 movie Sliver to improve his performance.
“When you look back at those times, how do you feel today about what producers said to you back then?”
After giggling as the question was being asked, Stone’s expression then changed and the 66-year-old firmly took a stand, saying she felt “set up” by the question and he needed to start again.
“First of all, you’re setting me up with the ‘did you beat your wife… yet’ comment so first of all I’m not going to validate the statement that you just made as if it was true. So we’re not going to do that to start with,” she said.
“So I’d like to restart with a new question somewhere else.”
Balls, who was presenting alongside Kate Garraway, was referring to what Stone said on an episode of Louis Theroux’s podcast and also in her own memoir.
He then changed his question to more generic, asking Stone how she felt she is treated in Hollywood.
Stone was on the show to discuss how art helped her heal following a serious bleed on the brain.
