Michael Douglas Finally Responds to Sharon Stone’s Claims About On-Set Tension originally appeared on Parade.
More than 30 years after the groundbreaking film Basic Instinct hit theaters, its seductive star has shared new insight into her experience alongside her Academy Award-winning co-star.
Sharon Stone, who stole the show as the ice pick-wielding Catherine Tramell, recently spoke to Business Insider about how her first stages of joining the project, which were marked by a unique rapport — or perhaps lack thereof — with Michael Douglas.
In her interview published Aug. 1, the Oscar-nominated actress, 67, begins by explaining how Douglas, now 80, was initially hesitant to sign on to Basic Instinct because “he did not want to put his bare ass out on the screen with an unknown — and I understood that. He wouldn’t even test with me, but that was also for a different reason: We had an argument prior to that.”
The argument, she tells Business Insider, stems from an alleged incident that took place at the Cannes Film Festival.
“A bunch of us were all sitting, and [Douglas] was talking about someone and their kids. I really, really knew this person he was talking about,” Stone said. “So I said something and he responded to me, saying, ‘What the f— do you know?’ It was in regard to a father-child relationship. Clearly, it triggered him.”
Stone continued, “So he screams this at me across a whole group of people. And I’m not the person who goes, ‘Oh, excuse me, superstar.’ I pushed back my chair and said to him, ‘Let’s step outside.’ That’s how we first met.”
Now, days after Stone’s Business Insider interview surfaced, Douglas’ team has issued a new statement in regards to Stone’s anecdote about their first encounter.
“A rep for Douglas says in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE that the actor ‘was very surprised’ by Stone’s quotes, as he doesn’t remember even meeting her until her screen test,” the magazine reported Monday.
Michael Douglas Finally Responds to Sharon Stone’s Claims About On-Set Tension first appeared on Parade on Aug 4, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
