Sharon Stone Questions Meryl Streep's Iconic Status

In a resurfaced interview, the Basic Instinct star questions whether Meryl Streep is deserving of her exalted status in Hollywood.

With a record 21 Academy Award nominations including three wins, and a record 32 Golden Globe nominations including a whopping nine wins, Streep is undoubtedly the most acclaimed American actress of the last 50 years. Streep's name has become a byword for acting, and it's every actor's dream to work alongside her.

Well, maybe not every actor's dream.

In an interview for Zoomer which resurfaced on social media on Tuesday, June 22nd, Sharon Stone seems to become triggered by mention of Streep's name.

The 63-year-old actress was promoting her recent auto-biography, The Beauty of Living Twice, when the interviewer turned the conversation away from Stone's talents and towards those of Streep.

"So when you finally got to work with Meryl Streep, you realised...," the interviewer began before Stone quickly interjected.

"I like the way you phrase that, that I finally got to work with Meryl Streep," Stone answered. "You didn't say, 'Meryl finally got to work with Sharon Stone.' Or we finally got to work together."

Stone then launched into a tirade, calling into question whether Streep's elevated status in the industry was actually harmful to other actresses working in her shadow.

"The way you structured the question is very much the answer to the question. The business was set up that we should all envy and admire Meryl because only Meryl got to be the good one. And everyone should compete against Meryl. I think Meryl is an amazingly wonderful woman and actress. But in my opinion, quite frankly, there are other actresses equally as talented as Meryl Streep. The whole Meryl Streep iconography is part of what Hollywood does to women."

Stone continued by naming some actresses she believes are the equal of Streep's talents. "Viola Davis is every bit the actress Meryl Streep is. Emma Thompson. Judy Davis. Olivia Colman. Kate Winslet, for f--k's sake. But you say Meryl, and everybody falls on the floor."

The Casino star then hyped up her own talents, suggesting she was a better actress than Streep for certain types of roles.

"I'm a much better villain than Meryl, and I'm sure she'd say so. Meryl was not gonna be good in Basic Instinct or in Casino. I would be better. And I know it. And she knows it. But we're all set up to think that only Meryl is so amazing that when you say her name it must have been amazing for me to work with her."

Moving away from Streep's acting talent, Stone went on to suggest that the 72-year-old Sophie's Choice star had remained silent on the issue of harassment in Hollywood in order to protect her career.

"Until there are real laws, #MeToo was just the opening sentence. I'm sure Meryl has a story. But I'm also sure if Meryl told you her story, she wouldn't be being Meryl, and she wouldn't be getting those jobs. Meryl can't be the envelope pusher. Because then she wouldn't get the jobs. Meryl's a smoother. That's what she does."

It will be interesting to see if Streep chooses to respond to Stone's comments.

With the recent release of a new extended cut of Basic Instinct, the erotic thriller which made her a star back in 1992, Stone recently revealed how director Paul Verhoeven had tricked her into revealing her most intimate parts in the film's most infamous scene. Stone claims the director asked her to remove her underwear, claiming the white material was reflecting the light. It was only later at a preview screening that Stone discovered just how much of her had been put on screen.