LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sharon Stone is all praise for Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd’s ‘The Idol’ after the series faced criticism for its sexuality. The ‘Basic Instinct’ star wrote on her Instagram story on Friday, May 26, “I just watched the first two episodes of @theidol @lilyrose_depp and Abel (@theweeknd) r so sure footed.” Stone did not stop there, she admired the work of the show’s director and co-creator, Sam Levinson, for taking on the critics head-on. “The root of crisis (sic) in entertainment; Which comes first the brilliance or the heartache?” she added in her story.

Interestingly, earlier this month, Lily-Rose Depp said she thought of Sharon Stone while filming for her character in HBO’s series. “We actually drew from a lot of other influences that are not pop stars. We thought a lot about Sharon Stone in ‘Basic Instinct’ and the Gene Tierneys and Lauren Bacalls … all of these women that were very inspiring to me for the role,” she told Entertainment Tonight. ‘The Idol’ premiered at Cannes Film Festival, where it received mixed reactions, as some were not happy with the extensive nudity portrayed.

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'Camera showing flashes of her breasts or a**'

“Revenge porn photos of bodily fluids on Depp’s face, masturbation with ice cubes, nightclub-owning scam artists and vile Hollywood sycophants populated the first two episodes of the already-controversial series,” Variety wrote. Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter reviewed, “Rarely does a scene go by without the camera showing flashes of her breasts or a**. You start to wonder if this is building to anything, and by episode two it seems likely that it’s probably not."

'It was like any rape fantasy'

Levinson, 38, has been accused of making the series into a ‘rape fantasy'. An article published by Rolling Stone claimed it interviewed 13 members of the series, including cast and crew, and they expressed their discomfort with its ‘tone and direction.’

“It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one production member told the magazine of Levinson’s version.

Another added, “It was like, ‘What is this? What am I reading here?’ It was like sexual torture porn.”