Sharon Stone Says Husband Signed Her Up For Surgery Without Consent

Sharon Stone is finally speaking about a nightmare from her past that she has carried for over two decades. In a recent episode of Mayim Bialik's Breakdown podcast, the 68-year-old actress described waking up on a gurney and realizing she was being pushed toward exploratory brain surgery. Her husband at the time, Phil Bronstein, had allegedly signed her off for the procedure without asking her permission first. Stone insists she never gave consent to that operation.

The trouble started in 2001 following a subarachnoid hemorrhage and stroke that left her slipping between consciousness and unconsciousness. She ended up in a neurological intensive care unit where the situation quickly spiraled out of control. "First, I woke up, and I was being wheeled to exploratory brain surgery," she recounted. "He had signed me up for exploratory brain surgery without my knowledge or consent." She added that she regained awareness only after her gurney bumped into something on the floor.

Stone said the doctors kept moving her forward even though she clearly did not want the surgery. The lead doctor told her to relax, claiming everything was already handled. "Don't worry. It's all been taken care of," he allegedly said while pushing her toward the operating room. She stood up in her hospital gown with her undergarments exposed as the staff rushed around them. Suddenly, nurses and orderlies swarmed into the room. The doctor held a fax machine and shouted that she could not stop him because he was already on the phone with People magazine to tell them she was heading into surgery.

Stone argued back, insisting she never signed off on anything. The doctor kept repeating that she had agreed, telling People magazine exactly what Stone told him. She tried to leave but felt trapped by his authority as her physician. Eventually, she fired him. A head nurse who had saved her life stepped in and stopped the chaos. "Well, she just did, sir. She just did," the fifty-year-old blonde nurse reportedly said before ordering the doctor to take Stone back to her room. Stone noted that without that nurse's quick action, she might not be alive today.

Bronstein also allegedly delayed taking her to the hospital and told medical staff that she was faking her illness. Their marriage ended in July 2003, with the divorce finalized early the next year. The fallout continued over their son Roan. A San Francisco court rejected Stone's request to change custody arrangements in 2008, keeping Bronstein's home as Roan's primary residence while she received visitation rights. She has suggested her history of making erotic films led to bias against her during the legal battle.

"I had a brain hemorrhage and was an actress who had made sexy movies," Stone told AARP in January 2012. She described standing in the wings at charity galas, head bowed on the floor while people stared at her. "God, please help me. I know I have to go out there and raise money. But I've lost my child, I've lost my health, I've lost everything." She felt broken by that time. In a 2014 essay for The Hollywood Reporter, she wrote about bleeding in her brain for nine days with a very low survival rate. She spent two years relearning how to walk and talk again, stuttering when she spoke and unable to read for those same two years. "I don't need someone to make me feel bad about growing older," she said. "I'll tell you what makes you feel bad: when you think you might not.