Sharon Stone reveals the 'fantastic' thing she did that made people stop liking her

Sharon Stone was considered one of the most alluring on-screen divas during her heydays in Hollywood, as she was often known for taking up challenging femme fatale roles. But no one can deny that we don't see Stone so often on the big screen anymore. Moreover, she lives a life away from the limelight. The veteran star finally opened up about her journey in Hollywood on a podcast episode of The Lady Gang and recounted the struggles she faced by setting boundaries and gradually becoming unpopular.

Stone chatted up with podcast hosts Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek about her superstardom after starring in the 1992 cult classic film "Basic Instinct" opposite Michael Douglas and how she suffered from a stroke in 2001. The actress revealed that earning respect in the industry was not easy for her and she had to take some drastic steps that rubbed other people the wrong way. But she eventually learned how to set boundaries and considered her decisions "fantastic" and "healthy."

"Everybody likes you when you do everything everyone asks and tells you to do," Stone told the cohosts. "Nobody likes you when you have boundaries." She went on to say that "the benefits are worth it" and far outweigh the detriments of being disliked. "The more that I understood what boundaries meant, the less people started to like me and the more I understood how fantastic and healthy that was," Stone added. "People wanted to put me down, make fun of me. It would have been easier if they could have made me small. And so, people tried to make me small for quite some time."

Stone went on to work with famed director Martin Scorsese in the 1995 film "Casino," which earned her an Oscar nomination and won her a Golden Globe, but she failed to gain the respect of her peers in the industry. "When I was nominated for the Golden Globe when they called my name, people laughed at me in the room," she shared. "It took two decades before people started to treat me with any kind of, I would say, regard about what I had accomplished."

Stone recalled taking a stand for herself while filming "Basic Instinct." "The makeup artist put way too much makeup on me and then I'd go into my trailer and I'd take the makeup off," Stone revealed. When the makeup artist chided her by saying, "I'm just going to keep putting it on you," she stood her ground and simply replied, "And I'll just keep taking it off." Stone learned the lesson that telling people "no" and setting healthy boundaries might make her unpopular, but it will gain her respect and help her become the best version of herself.

According to Deadline, Stone raised her voice against the gender pay gap, which is still a huge issue in Hollywood today and she recently felt the brunt of it again last year when she was offered the lead role in a big-budget studio film and had to turn down the offer, ultimately. "Thirty years ago, when I did Basic Instinct, Michael Douglas made $14 million and I made $500,000. Last year, there was a $100 million film being made by a studio and the new actor was going to be paid something like $8 million or $9 million – someone we don't know – and the studio offered me again $500,000 to be the female lead. So, I turned it down," Stone told the outlet. Indeed, the actress is an inspiration for many.