Sharon Stone recreates Basic Instinct scene on her own terms

Sharon Stone has recreated those infamous Basic Instinct photos from the 1992 film and this time, she's the one in control.  

The Oscar-nominated actor took to Instagram yesterday to put her own spin on the clip from the erotic thriller, in which her serial killer character sits on a chair smoking a cigarette and crossing her legs. 

Fast-forward almost 30 years, and Sharon has treated us to a new—and arguably, improved—version of the original snaps. Standing in her brightly lit kitchen, the Pennsylvanian movie star smirks at the camera whilst mimicking the smoking gesture with a tube of makeup. 

As for her outfit, she's once again wearing the Basic Instinct white dress—just not in the way you might expect. Sharon pays homage to Catherine Tramell's signature look without cracking open the costume box, donning a black t-shirt imprinted with an illustration of the iconic scene. 

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"Been there, done that; got the T-Shirt @groovyshelly," she captioned the photo, which comes just two days after Sharon's carefree bikini shot gave us all those ultimate summer feels. The witty ode to Basic Instinct was a clear assertion of power over her public image, which had been grossly exploited by the producers of the movie. 

Sharon was hailed as a bonafide sex symbol for the seductive pose at the time, but during filming, she felt anything but sexy. 

The Hollywood veteran has since revealed the dark reality behind the scenes of Basic Instinct, opening up about her abhorrent treatment onset of the Paul Verhoeven-directed movie. In her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, she made numerous shocking allegations against the crew and executives of the crime flick—summing up the entire experience as "terrifying." 

As well as accusing the project of giving her nightmares, Sharon Stone claimed she was tricked into removing her underwear for the iconic Basic Instinct film scene. It was only when watching the final cut of the film did she realize that her genitals had been exposed—a shot the producers assured her would not be used. 

"That was how I saw my vagina-shot for the first time, long after I'd been told, '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,'" she wrote. 

After calling her lawyer and confronting Verhoeven, Sharon was told she did not have any say in the matter. 

"I was just an actress, just a woman; what choices could I have?" she recalled. Despite coming to accept the scene's inclusion in the film, she continues to be haunted by the violation to this day.   

"Do you have any idea how many people have watched Basic Instinct in the last 20-something years? Think about it. It's about more than just a peek up my skirt, people," she added. 

The Beauty of Living Twice, which is available to buy here (opens in new tab), details plenty more jaw-dropping stories from Sharon's incredible life—including the time she saw a 'tunnel of light' in a 'very beautiful' near-death experience after a stroke. The actor also shares her harrowing childhood trauma, which saw her escape a cult and undergo an abortion, as well as her never-ending challenges as a woman working in Hollywood.