Full footage of Sharon Stone's controversial "karma" comments

By Keen Zhang
China.org.cn columnist
zhangr@china.org.cn

A Hong Kong cable TV station today released the full footage of their recording of Sharon Stone on Cannes' red carpet, to refute the star who told New York Times that her words had been distorted by the media.

"I am deeply saddened that a 10-second poorly-edited film clip has besmirched my reputation of over 20 years of charitable services on behalf of international charities", she told the New York Times last Thursday, insisting her comments in Cannes had been taken out of context.

Hong Kong Cable TV's Entertainment News Channel has acknowledged that the widely circulated video in cyberspace is their footage, but they denied having edited and manipulated the clip to sensationalize the news.

Today the Station unveiled the complete footage, which includes the word “Bulls**t” from Sharon Stone. An official said they reported the story as it was.

Stone accused a Hong Kong reporter of editing out her explanatory comments describing how her views were changed by The Bridge Fund, a Tibetan NGO.

"I don't know which Hong Kong media she referred to because many Hong Kong media were there that day. But if she meant us, since the video on Internet is ours, we'll ask her to apologize, otherwise we will make clear our public condemnation of her accusation," said Kuang Weiming, Vice-President of the channel's program department.

Hong Kong Cable TV's reporter Bear Kuang, who interviewed Sharon Stone that day, told Chinese portal Netease.com that he felt angry. "I just asked how she felt about Sichuan earthquake. But it was she who turned the issue onto politics. Her answer caused me a lot of pain. I think she is now looking for excuses for her comments. As a reporter, I simply reported what she said, even though I found it saddening. I reported the story objectively, truthfully and professionally. As for how other people will see it, you’ll have seen the reports and reaction from around the world."

Janis Chan, another anchor who was in Cannes that day, said: "If you have seen the footage, you will know clearly that she said those words and that she was speaking from the heart. I think everybody should take responsibility for their own words. They should have the courage to face the consequences, not try to shift the responsibility onto others."

Siuming Tsui, Executive Director of Hong Kong Cable Television, also said, "Sharon Stone's remarks caused hurt to all Chinese hearts and insulted the journalists' profession. Who cares if she apologized, anyone who heard her words can make their own judgment. When any such unfortunate tragedy happens anywhere, the whole of humanity should join together in mutual help instead of indulging in schadenfreude."

On this basis Tsui and the cable TV's executives decided to release the full footage to the world. After viewing the full footage, netizens cast their votes on the question: "Were Sharon Stone's karma remarks taken out of context?" 84 percent of 15,676 voters voted "no", according to Netease.com's online survey.

Does Sharon Stone not understand why the Chinese, along with others all over the world, are angry? She shouldn't have mixed her politics with a natural disaster in the first place. Neither her "karma" theory nor her politics should be put above humanity.

In additional footage, Sharon Stone gave further vent to her opinion that Chinese people should be nicer (aren't they?), and have no right to compartmentalize people, otherwise, as she put it "Who's gonna help them when they're in trouble?"

On the issue of politics, this is hardly the time for suffering Chinese people to be lectured by an ill-informed American actress who understands little or nothing about the complexities of the Tibetan issue, nor of her "good friend" the Dalai Lama.