Sharon Stone in the Famous Interrogation Scene From “Basic Instinct” (1992) Which Put Her On the Map

Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. Sharon Stone’s performance as Catherine Tramell was both mesmerizing and unsettling—she played the role with a mix of intelligence, manipulation, and icy confidence that made her unforgettable.

That interrogation scene, with the infamous leg-crossing moment, was controversial because of how it played with sexuality and power dynamics. Stone later revealed that she was misled about what would be visible in the shot, which added another layer to the film’s already intense reputation.

Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment in 2016, Verhoeven revealed his inspiration for that sequence, tracing it back to his college days in Holland. “There was a woman in our circles who was a bit older than us,” the Dutch filmmaker recalled. “My friend and I saw that she was not wearing any underwear. He was more audacious than I, and went over to her and said: ‘Are you aware that we can basically see right into your vagina?’ She said, ‘Of course I know — that’s why I do these things.’ I told that to Sharon the night we had dinner, and I said to her what if we build that scene into the movie?”

In recent years, though, Stone has pushed back against Verhoeven’s version of events. In her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, the actress claimed she was duped into exposing herself on camera. Far from talking with her ahead of time, Stone recalled that Verhoeven waited until they were on set to explain his intentions for the scene.

“[I was 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,’” Stone wrote. “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 bulls**t.”

Stone didn’t see the interrogation room scene until Verhoeven invited her to a screening that was attended by a largely male group of agents, lawyers and executives. “That was how I saw my vagina-shot for the first time,” she remembered, adding that she “slapped Paul across the face” after the film ended.

Stone also immediately consulted with her lawyer, Marty Singer, who advised that she seek an injunction preventing the film’s release. “At that time, this would give the film an X rating,“ she wrote. “Marty said, per the Screen Actors Guild, my union, it wasn’t legal to shoot up my dress in this fashion. Whew, I thought.”

In her book, Stone described a post-screening conversation with Verhoeven where the director “vehemently denied that I had any choices at all. I was just an actress, just a woman; what choices could I have?” Ultimately, she opted not to pursue legal action. “I chose to allow this scene in the film. Why? Because it was correct for the film and for the character; and because, after all, I did it.”

For his part, Verhoeven disputed Stone’s published account. “My memory is radically different from Sharon’s memory,” he told Variety. “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 ... [and] Sharon and I decided to do a similar sequence.”