Viewpoints Cannes Controversy: Sharon Stone’s china quake bad “karma” comments | Cannes Controversy: Sharon Stone’s china quake bad “karma” comments |
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| Saturday, 31 May 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sharon Stone, best known for starring in the movie Basic Instinct, had actually been hot off the praises of many for her fundraising efforts for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. During the charity auction, that took place alongside of the film festival, Stone along with her celebrity friends, which included A-listers like Madonna, P. Diddy, and Natalie Portman to name a few, collectively help raise $10 million dollars for paediatric AIDS research. Soon after this philanthropic triumph, according to the Guardian, Stone was quoted as saying that the recent Sichuan earthquake, which has killed 67,000 people so far, may in a way be in result of bad "karma" for possible human rights offenses by the Chinese government in its treatment of the Tibetan people. Stone, who counts the Dalai Lama as a personal friend, also expressed her displeasure of the treatment of the Dalai Lama by the Chinese authorities. "I've been concerned about how should we deal with the Olympics, because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine," she said. During an interview with reporters at Cannes, Stone was not afraid to voice her belief that the Sichuan earthquake may in a way be retribution for the mistreatment of the Tibetan people at the hands of the Chinese. "And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and I thought, is that karma?" Stone said. "When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?" Because of her statements, Stone has effectively jeopardized her future in the Chinese media market, where along with her films, she had also been featured in ad campaigns for Christian Dior. According to Clifford Coonan of The Independent, Stone has remained a popular star in China and had been warmly received at the Shanghai Film Festival last year, ironically giving comments of praise about China's ancient civilization. Stone's comments have also greatly offended the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers and founder of the UME Cineplex chain, Ng See-Yuen. Ng is now banning the showing of Stone's present and future films in his cinema chain, which can be found in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai, as he has stated to The Beijing Times that he thought her words about the quake were "inappropriate" considering the tragic circumstances. China's Xinhua news agency has also labelled Stone as "the public enemy of all mankind". Additionally, Stone's image was immediately removed from the advertising materials for Christian Dior in department stores in the Beijing and Shanghai, and according to the PR company for Dior she has been dropped from promoting their anti-ageing skincare line in China. Dior has also issued an apology to the its customers in China to separate itself from their embattled spokesman. "We just want our customers and fans to realise that her personal comments are not related to the company," the company said. "And of course we don't support any type of commentary that will hurt the feelings of our customers. In the wake of the controversy, Stone has stepped forward and issued her own apology for her comments. Stating that she is "deeply sorry" for any pain that her words have caused to the Chinese people, to make amends she has also said she is would work with the earthquake relief efforts. "Due to my inappropriate words and acts during the interview, I feel deeply sorry and sad about hurting Chinese people," Stone said. She later stated she would also "wholly devote myself to helping affected Chinese people". Questionable is the word as to whether or not Stone's apology will be able to salvage her career in China as a movie star and brand front-woman. But in the end, some ill-timed words may show that bad "karma" can cut both ways. See Stone's comments on YouTube here. Pamela Yau
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Controversy usually hits the Cannes Film Festival from what
is shown on the big screen. However, this year at the 61st
International Cannes Film Festival, some off-colour comments about the recent
earthquake in China by American actress Sharon Stone is creating a media storm
that could possibly overshadow the ritzy event. | < Prev | Next > |
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