![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/16e6f2edb216eb9d9c0f4fff59b6f8ba8c-sharonstone.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\")
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\n Photo: Hoda Davaine\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
For some reason, despite the fact that I wrote in scathing detail last year about its decision to honor alleged sex criminal Kevin Spacey<\/a>, the Better World Fund invited me back to its event this year. This year\u2019s honoree was, in rather great contrast, Sharon Stone<\/a>, who received an award for Best Engagement (?).<\/p>\n At last year\u2019s event, a woman sat on me because she didn\u2019t realize I was sitting in a chair that she had also wanted to sit in. This time, a woman ate my dinner while I was in the bathroom. It\u2019s clear that I do not register as a person to the attendees of the Better World Fund Gala; given the choice, however, I would prefer to be sat on. Much like last year, when I arrived \u2014 late from a screening \u2014 a woman was berating the audience, asking them to be quiet as they ignored her entirely. \u201cCan you please close your eyes and be quiet?\u201d she pleaded.<\/p>\n Stone took the stage abruptly around 10 p.m. She looked a bit nervous before beginning. \u201cThank you very much for coming to this beautiful event that we began three years ago,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cNever before has it become more important for us to do this, for us to protect women and children on a global scale,\u201d Stone said. \u201cSomeone said something to me recently that I found to be very relevant, which is the world is made up of women. And their children. And that\u2019s it.\u201d The audience applauded, seemingly agreeing.<\/p>\n She went on in this vein for a few minutes. \u201cI think it\u2019s very important for men to recognize that you are the child of a woman,\u201d she continued. \u201cThe respect and dignity and care that you give to women is a reflection of the respect and dignity and care that you give to yourself. Because that is your origin story.\u201d<\/p>\n Then she seemed to veer off book. \u201cAs I stand here, I see you looking at me,\u201d Stone said \u201cI see you wanting me to tell you something that is gonna, in some way, make you feel resolved in a moment that lacks resolution. Am I right?\u201d \u201cYes!\u201d screamed a woman next to me. Stone nodded. \u201cAnd yet what I know is that you know right here, if every one of you put your hand right here.\u201d She gestured to her stomach. \u201cAnd then what I want you to do is look at the person sitting beside you, whoever it is \u2014 you might know them and you might not \u2014 really look at them.\u201d<\/p>\n Some people obeyed. \u201cAt one point in their lives, they were a small, helpless, innocent child,\u201d Stone continued. \u201cAnd at some point in their life \u2026somebody fucked with them.\u201d All eyes turned toward her. \u201cSomebody hurt them. Somebody disappointed them. Somebody made them feel small. And if you could turn to them now and you could tell them you were really sorry that that thing happened to them, it would really help them. It would help them to know that you cared.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at the audience expectantly. She was not pleased.<\/p>\n \u201cI want you to turn to the person next to you, the person you don\u2019t know. I want you to look in their face,\u201d Stone said. \u201cPut down your fucking phones. I mean it. Put those goddamn phones on the table.\u201d She began addressing partygoers directly. \u201cPut them down. Put that down. Put it down. Put it down.\u201d<\/p>\n We did her bidding. She stared at us, still unsatisfied. \u201cTurn to the person next to you, and I want you to tell them \u2014 and I want you to mean it \u2014 that you\u2019re sorry for the thing that hurt them, that makes them afraid, that makes them mean, that makes them afraid when they\u2019re alone, that makes them angry.\u201d We turned. \u201cPut that fucking phone down,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Stone began calling out specific people in the audience. \u201cTurn to that man right there that\u2019s looking at you right there. You turn to him, you turn around to that man right there and hug him, hug that man right there,\u201d she said from the stage. \u201cStop eating. Turn to that guy right there, that guy. You, yes, you in the white, turn to him, tell him you care he\u2019s carrying pain, that you love him.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at another man. \u201cYou right there. You have pain. You hug that man right there, hug him. You turn to that lady behind you. You alone there, turn to the lady next to you, hug her. You right there, turn to the lady next to you, hug her.\u201d Everyone began slowly turning to each other. Some hugged. One man whispered to me that he was afraid. I felt alive.<\/p>\n It started raining. Stone was bolstered. \u201cYou see the rain coming down,\u201d she said. \u201cClean energy coming down.\u201d She paused and looked at us. \u201cThank you. Thank you for washing yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n As she walked offstage, a man dropped a stack of plates, which shattered on the floor. A woman screamed like she\u2019d been stabbed. Another woman took the stage and sang some opera, quite beautifully, as everyone ignored her.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n