The Dish Rag

Sharon Stone's Karma Comments Anger Chinese

Zap2It.com | May 28, 2008
Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
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A Chinese theater chain will boycott her films

Sharon Stone's remarks suggesting that the devastating Sichuan earthquake was karmic retribution for the Chinese government's policy on Tibet have not gone unpunished in China.

The owner of one of China's biggest urban cinema chains, UME Cineplex, has called a boycott on the "Basic Instinct" actress' films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans, because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said in an interview with Cable Entertainment News of Hong Kong on Thursday (May 22) at the Festival de Cannes. "And then all this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, 'Is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?'"

UME founder Ng See-Yuen and chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers called Stone's comments "inappropriate" and said that actors shouldn't politicize the May 12 natural disaster that has claimed at least 68,000 lives and left 5 million homeless.

Although Stone's resume of films probably has't been on heavy rotation in China, the ban could hurt any of her future projects, of which she has a few already finished filming or in development. The theater chain has branches in China's biggest urban movie markets, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

Some major Beijing department stores have even gone so far as to remove Christian Dior advertisements, which feature the actress' face.

In the same interview, Stone revealed that she cried when she got a letter from the Tibetan Foundation asking her to help the quake victims.

"Sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service, even to people who aren't nice to you. That's a big lesson for me," Stone said.

What are your thoughts on Stone's comments?

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