Controversy
After the script was made available to gay rights activist groups in 1990, concerns arose as to the film's depiction of homosexual relationships and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderous psychopath. Activists claimed that the film followed a pattern of negative depictions and stereotypes of homosexuals in film. While Eszterhas was open to addressing these concerns, Verhoeven, Douglas and producer Alan Marshall rejected the changes, claiming that they "undermined" Eszterhas' script and "lessen the integrity of the picture." Upon resuming filming in San Francisco in late April 1991, gay and lesbian rights activists and demonstrators attended, and the San Francisco Police Department's riot police were present at every location to manage the crowds. Protesters outside the filming locations held signs that said "Honk if you love the 49ers" and "Honk if you love men." On April 29, Marshall ordered a citizen's arrest and personally identified each protester he wanted arrested. However, this did not result in any action by the local police department.
Members of the lesbian and bisexual activist group LABIA protested against the film on its opening night. Others also picketed theatres to dissuade people from attending screenings, carrying signs saying "Kiss My Ice Pick", "Hollywood Promotes Anti-Gay Violence" and "Catherine Did It!"/"Save Your Money—The Bisexual Did It". Verhoeven himself defended the groups' right to protest, but criticized the disruptions they caused, saying "Fascism is not in raising your voice; the fascism is in not accepting the no."
Six protestors disrupted the filming of Saturday Night Live on April 11, 1992, while Stone was hosting. The protestors attempted to rush the stage but they were apprehended by security; two women and four men were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment. The live version of Stone's interrupted monologue was replaced in repeat broadcasts with footage from the dress rehearsal.
Film critic Roger Ebert mentioned the controversy in his review, saying "As for the allegedly offensive homosexual characters: The movie's protesters might take note of the fact that this film's heterosexuals, starting with Douglas, are equally offensive. Still, there is a point to be made about Hollywood's unremitting insistence on typecasting homosexuals—particularly lesbians—as twisted and evil." Camille Paglia denounced the gay activist and feminist protests against Basic Instinct and called Sharon Stone's performance "one of the great performances by a woman in screen history", praising her character as "a great vamp figure, like Mona Lisa herself, like a pagan goddess."
Women's rights groups also protested the film over its negative depiction of women and a brutal rape scene, with a branch of The National Organization for Women calling the film "the most blatantly misogynistic film in recent memory." Its Los Angeles branch president at the time claimed the movie sent a message "that women like violence, women like to be used, women like to be raped." The film was also criticized for glamorizing cigarette smoking. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas was later diagnosed with throat cancer and publicly apologized for glamorizing smoking in his films.
In 1992, in Les Herbiers, France, the mayor Jeanne Briand banned the movie in her municipality, claiming that this movie was "apologism for crime and violence, which exacerbates impulses that can lead to rape."
Stone has alleged multiple times that a scene in which her vulva was exposed as she crossed her legs was filmed without her knowledge. She said she was told that her lack of underwear would only be alluded to and not shown. She had been wearing white underwear until Verhoeven said it reflected light on the camera lens and asked her to remove it, assuring her that only a shadow would be visible. She said it was not until she saw the film in a screening room with a test audience that she became aware of the visible nudity, leading her to slap Verhoeven in the face and leave the screening.
In her 2021 memoir, Stone again stated that she was misled by Verhoeven with regard to the circumstance of the filming of the scene, even though she ultimately did not seek an injunction against it. Verhoeven responded that it was "impossible" and "she knew exactly what we were doing." However, despite having a "radically different" memory about the particular scene, he praised Stone's performance and said they are on good terms. In a 1998 Inside the Actors Studio interview, Stone said that while she was initially angry, she realized Verhoeven's decision was the right one, saying, "And I thought about it for a few days and I knew in my heart, he was right. I hated that it existed, I hated it more that he stole it from me instead of allowing me to choose. But he was right."
In a 1993 Entertainment Weekly interview, Jeanne Tripplehorn stated that the notorious "brutal, bruising sex" between her and Douglas' character was somewhat "lighter" when described to her by Verhoeven before shooting.
During the trial for Luka Magnotta for the murder of Jun Lin, the prosecution stated that Magnotta stabbed Lin to death with a screwdriver painted silver in order to resemble the ice pick used by Stone's character, Catherine Tramell. Magnotta had also used the alias 'Kirk Trammel' [sic], after Stone's character, and during interrogation falsely claimed the existence of a criminal associate named 'Manny', after Catherine Trammell's unseen fiancé Manny Vasquez.
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