Sharon Stone doesn't think she received "respect" because of her infamous Basic Instinct scene

She told Business Insider: "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."

Sharon alleged in her 2021 autobiography, The Beauty of Living Twice, that she was tricked into removing her underwear for the scene and hadn't seen the footage until a screening of the movie, but she now understands why director Paul Verhoeven was "scared" to show it to her.

She said: "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."

And despite her initial unhappiness, Sharon was happy to keep the scene in the movie because she understood its value.

She explained: "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.

"What I did with what happened [in the interrogation scene] is exactly the way I wanted to do it.

"Verhoeven and I have a wonderful relationship. I would work with him again in a second. We both understand. Even though we have different public ways of discussing it, we understand very well what happened regarding the crotch scene."

Sharon previously claimed she first saw the scene as she watched the movie "with a room full of agents and lawyers".

In an excerpt from her memoir, she said: "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.'

"Yes, there have been many points of view on this topic, but since I'm the one with the vagina, in question, let me say: The other points of view are b****** ... it was me and my parts up there."

She also recalled slapping director Paul across the face before leaving and calling her lawyer Marty Singer to assess her options.

But Paul insisted his memory of the time was "radically different".

He told Variety: "My memory is radically different from Sharon's memory. That does not stand in the way and has nothing to do with the wonderful way that she portrayed Catherine Tramell. She is absolutely phenomenal... but her version is impossible. She knew exactly what we were doing.

"I told her it was based on a story of a woman that I knew when I was a student who did the crossing of her legs without panties regularly at parties. When my friend told her we could see her vagina, she said, 'Of course, that's why I do it'. Then Sharon and I decided to do a similar sequence."