Sharon Stone took the stage on Thursday night’s GQ Men of the Year Awards in Berlin, Germany. While accepting the Woman of the Year Award, the actress eschewed a traditional speech and, instead, encountered a chair onstage and made herself comfortable. Instantly, the audience realized that because Stone was wearing a short skirt, something might be afoot, and sure enough, Stone meant to evoke a similar reaction as with that Basic Instinct interrogation scene, when her character turns the tables on not only Michael Douglas but those who question her motives.
Once Stone sat down in the chair, an audible reaction rose from the audience, and obviously, people were wondering if the 61-year-old actress was truly about to reenact the 1992 scene. Yet she knew exactly what she was doing and harnessed the mood to discuss the filming of that scene in loosely defined terms, with Stone making a point about life-altering moments:
“Some years ago I was sitting on a sound stage, and my director said, ‘Can you hand me your underpants because we’re seeing them in the scene and you shouldn’t have underpants on but we won’t see anything.’ I said, ‘Sure.’ I didn’t know this moment would change my life.”
This led Stone to instruct the audience to cross, uncross, and cross their own legs, along with asking if this gesture made them feel empowered. More than likely, not everyone in the room felt that way, which was Stone’s point. Everyone can feel empowered (or not) by their own experiences in life, and what’s really important is what these stand-out moments mean to an individual. “We have every right to be powerful in whatever form of sexuality we choose to have,” she declared. “And no one is allowed to take that away from you.”
Watch her full speech below.
