Sharon Stone comes to the defense of Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd after their HBO show The Idol was criticized for gratuitous nudity
Sharon Stone sang the praises of the controversial TV show The Idol after it debuted the first two episodes at the Cannes Film Festival.
The 65, who shared sizzling bikini snaps on social media, praised the performances of Lily-Rose Depp, 24, and The Weeknd, 33, who star in the series about a pop star trying to reclaim her career after suffering a nervous breakdown.
The episodes received a five minute standing ovation after the screening.
The show has been panned by critics for its sexual content, but the Basic Instinct star had a different take.
'I just watched the first two episodes of @theidol @lilyrose_depp and Abel (@theweeknd) r so sure footed,' the Oscar nominee stated.
Defense: Sharon Stone, 65, sang the praises of the controversial show The Idol after it debuted the first two episodes at the Cannes Film Festival; seen May 18 in Beverly Hills
She then praised director and co-creator Sam Levinson, saying he 'addresses the root on the crisis in entertainment; Which comes first the brilliance of the heartache?'
The show has been taken to task for what many critics see as gratuitous nudity.
Lily-Rose Depp stars as pop star Jocelyn, who is trying to make a comeback after suffering a nervous breakdown after the death of her mother.
The Weeknd is a club owner and cult leader who gets entangled with the singer and her career.
Director and co-creator Sam Levinson addressed that a news conference in Cannes Wednesday.
'We live in a very sexualize world, he said,' especially in the states, and I think the influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of, I think, young people in the states.
'We see this in pop music and how it sort of reflects the underbelly of the internet.'
'I think it's very true to what almost every pop star doing these days.'
The Idol: Lily-Rose Depp stars as pop star Jocelyn, who is trying to make a comeback after suffering a nervous breakdown after the death of her mother. The Weeknd is a club owner and cult leader who gets entangled with the singer and her career
Sure footed: The Idol has been panned by critics for it's sexual content, but the Basic Instinct star had a different take, calling the performances by Lily-Rose and The Weeknd 'sure footed'
Lily-Rose said she was involved in creating all the aspects of her character Joselyn, including the amount of nudity on the screen.
'I think the occasional bareness of the character physically mirrors the bareness that we get to see emotionally in her and that's something I felt was really important to the character.'
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the actress said she was inspired by Sharon Stone, along with screen sirens Lauren Bacall and Gene Tierney.
The Weekend, 33, whose legal name is Abel Tesfaye, wanted to tackle his home turf.
'I initially wanted to make a dark, twisted fairy tale with the music industry and everything I know about it, and heighten it,' he explained.
The Blinding Lights artist collaborated with the show creators.
'We really wanted to focus on "can we create our own pop star? Can we create somebody who is trying to find themselves?"'
He said he used his own experiences along with those of Sam and Lily 'to create something special, daring, exciting, fun... made people laugh, pissed some people off.'
Sex scenes: Director Sam Levinson addressed the sex scenes in the show, saying 'I think the influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of, I think, young people in the states. We see this in pop music and how it sort of reflects the underbelly of the internet'
Character development: Lily-Rose said she was involved in creating all the aspects of her character Joselyn. 'I think the occasional bareness of the character physically mirrors the bareness that we get to see emotionally in her,' she explained
Inspiration: Lily-Rose told Entertainment Tonight Sharon Stone inspired her performance in The Idol
Screen sirens: Lily Rose said she also drew inspiration from screen sirens Lauren Bacall and Gene Tierney
Experience: The Weeknd collaborated on the premise. 'I initially wanted to make a dark, twisted fairy tale with the music industry and everything I know about it, and heighten it,' he explained, revealing that the plot was inspired by his own experiences as well as Lily's
Rape fantasy: Rolling Stone spoke with 13 members of The Idol crew upset about the tone of the show. 'It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,' one complained
Some of those 'pissed off' people include 13 members of the crew who told Rolling Stone the tone of the show changed after director Amy Seimetz left the project.
'It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,' one crew member told the outlet.
Another agreed, saying, 'It was like, "What is this? What am I reading here?" It was like sexual torture porn.'
The Idol debuts on HBO Max June 4.
