Harvey Weinstein sex scandal opened the Pandora’s Box in Hollywood. The American film industry is rocked by the umpteen sexual misconducts and workplace harassment alleged by women and men against the men in power – be it actors, producers, directors, filmmakers or writers. The angsts against injustice has turned into a social movement with individuals joining worldwide. We recently saw Oprah Winfrey’s powerful speech at the Golden Globes addressing the issue. Joining the long-list of stars who have reacted against the ordeal is Sharon Stone. However, it was the Basic Instinct star’s laughter more than her words that will ring in your ears…and it should.

American actress Sharon Stone’s response to facing sexual harassment in her career spanning over four decades is everything. The 59-year-old Basic Instinct star gave a straight ten-second long laughter on Lee Cowan’s face during an interview with CBS Sunday. A video tweeted by user Yashar Ali begins with Sharon Stone laughing as the interviewer gave her a perplexed look.

The video opens with her laughing, but users can find out the reason behind her laughter in the accompanying tweet. It reads, “On @CBSSunday, @sharonstone was asked if she's ever faced any sort of harassment/assault while she's been in the entertainment business. This was her reaction.....”

'I don't know how to ask this in a delicate way, but were you ever in a position like that, that you felt that you were uncomfortable?' Lee Cowan asked Stone in the interview that focussed on her work, massive brain haemorrhage in 2001 and comeback. But it was this moment, which got Twitterverse abuzz.

Her reaction is gold on being asked such a naive question, something that Cowan admitted quickly. He said, ''You're laughing, but I don't know if that's a nervous laugh, or an Are-you-kidding-me-of-course-I-was laugh?'' as Sharon continues to laugh.

She calmly proceeds to explain the reason behind her chuckle by saying, 'Oh, I've been in this business for 40 years, Lee.' The actress who was on Cowan’s show to discuss her work with HBO's Mosaic summed it up by saying, 'Can you imagine the business I stepped into 40 years ago? Looking like I look, from Nowhere, Pennsylvania? I didn't come here with any protection. I've seen it all.' This is by far the simplest yet chilling reaction to the grim reality of the entertainment sector.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2018 07:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).