Acclaimed actress Sharon Stone has recently opened up about a distressing incident from her early career in Hollywood. The Oscar-nominated star revealed that in the 1980s, a former head of Sony exposed himself to her during a meeting, adding to what she described as "not the last of many weird experiences" in her long career.

While not disclosing the executive's name, Stone detailed the encounter, exposing an unsettling episode of harassment in an industry already grappling with power imbalances. The actress's candid revelation highlights the ongoing challenges faced by women in the entertainment world, even as movements like #MeToo strive to bring about change.

Sony Pictures did not immediately return a request for comment from the BBC.

Snippet from the iconic movie, "Basic Instinct". Photo: Collected

The Oscar-nominated 65-year-old talked about the incident during a podcast with US talk show host Kelly Ripa. She says she was called to the office of the former "head of Sony" for a meeting when she first moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s.

Stone claims the executive told her: "It's true what they say about you and you're the most gorgeous. We haven't seen anyone like you in decades. Everybody's talking about you, and look at you. You're the most articulate. You're so smart and beautiful—and that hair".

"Then he went, came walking right up in front of me, and he said, 'But first,' and he took his penis right out in my face," she said. Stone said she got hysterical, and the executive backed off and left through a door behind his desk. She said his secretary later led her out of the office.

Stone said there was "no way I could have told this story before" and "Sony would never hire me again" if she did at that time.

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When she was promoting her 2021 memoir, "The Beauty of Living Twice", Stone said she felt pressured to reveal whether she had experienced sexual abuse in Hollywood. The book came out a few years after the #MeToo movement exposed systemic sexual abuse by some of the entertainment industry's most powerful figures.

Stone shot to sex symbol status in the early 1990s via the hit movie Basic Instinct. She went on to star in critically acclaimed films such as Casino, for which she won the Golden Globe Best Lead Actress in a Musical or Comedy and was nominated for an Oscar.