The Bumble location-based social and dating app has apologized after blocking actress Sharon Stone's profile for fear her account was fake.
But when they reinstated her account after verifying her identity, Stone was not amused about their apology.
The actress made famous by the 1992 thriller Basic Instinct expressed she did not appreciate Bumble referencing her character from the movie.
When Stone first discovered she had been blocked by the app, she took to Instagram and Twitter and wrote:
"I went on the @bumble dating sight and they closed my account"
"Some users reported that it couldn't possibly be me!
Hey @bumble, is being me exclusionary?"
"Don't shut me out of the hive"
The gaffe was rectified and Bumble offered a swift apology.
However, the manner in which they expressed their regret on Twitter fell flat.
It started with promise.
"Looks like our users thought you were too good to be true."
"We've made sure that you won't be blocked again. We hope that everyone in our community takes a sec to verify their profiles."
They could have stopped there.
But they didn't.
They invoked Stone's Basic Instinct character Catherine Tramell—a serial killer who forever immortalized leg-crossing as something highly erotic.
The role remained controversial for the actress.
"Catherine Tramell from Basic Instinct gets a pass today!."
The reference didn't go over very well with Stone.
She reminded Bumble that she is a woman, not a character.
"Dear Bumble, you are confusing my honesty with your fantasy."
"This is a disservice to the men and women who partake in @bumble. I am Sharon. I am a woman. Thank you.''
Fans agreed with Stone about the egregious apology.
Some users overlooked all the hubbub and pointed themselves out as available.
Her dignified response to Bumble earned more admiration from followers.
She tagged her post with a YouTube clip of her speech after being chosen as Woman of the Year at November's GQ Awards, which you can also see here:
GQ Men of the Year 2019 – "Woman of the Year": Sharon Stone on "Basic Instinct" leg crossyoutu.be
In her acceptance speech, Stone addressed how the scandalous flashing scene we all know from Basic Instinct changed her life forever.
After Billy Porter brought out a chair for her to sit on onstage, she asked the audience to join her in recreating the famous leg-crossing moment from 27 years ago.
She prefaced the demonstration by explaining she consented to removing her panties for the scene at the request of her director who assured her "we won't see anything."
After she had the audience participate, Stone asked:
"Do you feel empowered?"
"Each and every one of you is going to have a moment, like mine. A moment that changes your life. When you might be aware of when it's happening. And one you might not."
"You're going to have it if you haven't already, and you're going to be held accountable for it if you haven't already"
She continued:
"So the time to decide who you are is now. The time to decide what you do with the tender, important, beautiful, savage, passionate, most important part of yourself."
"What are you gonna do with it? I'll tell you what I did with mine. I respected it. And I would suggest that you all do the same."
"Because we have every right to be powerful in whatever form of sexuality we choose to have. And no one is allowed to take that away from you."
The actress closed her speech by acknowledging her selection as Woman of the Year.
"I want to say thank you for choosing me to be Woman of the Year, because there was a time when all I was was a joke."
You can see Stone in the role that garnered her an Academy Award nomination in the film Casino, available here.
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