Sharon Stone recently opened up about her traumatic experience on the set of Sliver. However, it triggered a bizarre, misogynistic rant from her former co-star, Billy Baldwin, for failing to praise his acting skills.
Stone, one of the greatest Hollywood actresses of all time, has over 100 film credits to her name, having earned countless prestigious awards for films like Casino, Basic Instinct, The Practice, and The Muse. However, like many women, her experiences in the male-dominated industry have often been less than ideal.
In her memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, she opens up about her many struggles in life and how she suffered abuse in her career, much like she had in childhood. From predators to public scrutiny and humiliation to an inability to find work after suffering a stroke, her memoir highlights the vast need for reform in Hollywood and its treatment of women.
In her 2021 memoir, one of the most shocking incidents Stone recounted was being pressured to have sex with a male co-star by a producer. She and her co-star struggled from a lack of chemistry onscreen, and the producer decided that Stone sleeping with him would improve his performance. She also described being scapegoated by the producer for refusing his demands. At the time, Stone did not name the producer, movie, or co-star. However, now that several years have gone by since the producer’s passing, she revealed it was Robert Evans.
What happened to Sharon Stone on the set of Sliver?
Stone told the whole story of Evans while appearing on The Louis Theroux Podcast. She said, “He [Evans] is running around his office in sunglasses explaining to me that he slept with Ava Gardner and I should sleep with Billy Baldwin, because if I slept with Billy Baldwin, Billy Baldwin’s performance would get better … if I would just have sex with him then that would save the movie.”
Stone explained that the producer’s whole viewpoint was that it was her fault Baldwin was struggling onset. Evans claimed she was a “tight a**” and “not like a real actress who could just f**k him and get things back on track.” The horrific story demonstrates just how many predators are in Hollywood and how many make it through a lifetime career without ever being exposed. The fact that Evans suggested his disgusting demands were just what a “real actress” would do raises concerns for how many other victims of this sort of coercion there may be.
Why is Billy Baldwin triggered by Stone’s story?
In her book, Stone gets a little more candid about the situation, explaining that she wasn’t forced to sleep with Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct for him to have a good performance. Additionally, she rightfully pointed out that a more straightforward solution for Sliver would be to cast “a costar with talent, someone who could deliver a scene and remember his line.”
Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but one can understand her frustration at being told she’s responsible for a man’s performance. Meanwhile, obviously, the vast majority who hear her story will be far more concerned about Evans’ conduct than that Baldwin allegedly struggled to remember lines in a movie decades ago.
However, Baldwin’s ego was severely hurt by the insinuation that his acting wasn’t top-notch. He was inordinately triggered by Stone’s brief mention of him, as evidenced by his unhinged X rant in which he claims Stone is lying because she has “a crush” on him and “is still hurt after all these years” because he supposedly rejected her.
Baldwin goes on to claim that she told her friend Janice Dickinson that she would make him fall for her. On top of that, he claimed he demanded to choreograph an intimate scene in Sliver so he “wouldn’t have to kiss Sharon” during it. He also appeared to threaten Stone, writing “I have so much dirt on her it would make her head spin. […] Wonder if I should write a book and tell the many, many disturbing, kinky and unprofessional tales about Sharon?”
X users were taken aback by the post, as it is dripping with hatred for Stone. She merely hinted that he struggled on Sliver and he thought that warranted hitting back with a post essentially saying he’s repulsed by her? He also couldn’t come up with a more original defense than the typical misogynistic delusion that any woman who doesn’t sing his praises must be a jaded lover? Meanwhile, Dickinson has already spoken out and stated that he’s outright lying—Stone never made any statement to her about being interested in Baldwin.
It should go without saying that his response was not justified, as such a hateful response is not justified in any situation. She was trying to talk about a traumatic experience she faced as a woman in Hollywood, and he somehow twisted it around to be all about him. Users will notice that he doesn’t even accuse her of lying. He simply thinks he’s so grand that Stone isn’t allowed to talk about him.
Unfortunately, this is a common issue women face when telling their stories. After Britney Spears published her memoir, she was pressured to apologize to a remorseless Justin Timberlake, while Jada Pinkett Smith faced intense vitriol for allegedly emasculating Will Smith in her book. Not only are women apparently not allowed to expose men’s mistreatment of them, but now they seemingly can’t mention men, period, for fear they may accidentally hurt their fragile egos, as Baldwin’s was so easily shattered.
(featured image: Ernesto Ruscio / Phillip Faraone / VF24 / Getty)
