Emily Tan writes:
Sharon Stone's infamous "bad karma" comment has so incensed the Chinese public that Dior has been forced to axe all advertisements featuring Stone in China. In a May 22 red-carpet interview, Stone who was about to host a fund-raising gala for the American Foundation for AIDS Research said, "I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And the earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that bad things happen to you?"
Despite a groveling apology from Stone, China's wrath remains unappeased with 69% respondents out of a survey of 250,000 saying they would never forgive her and would not accept her apology, and a leading cinema refusing to screen any of her films. Dior has also issued an apology, disassociating itself from Sharon's faux pas.
The 50 year-old actress has been featured as a face of Dior since she signed on in 2005 to advertise Capture Totale, the company's anti-aging cream. When initially contacted by the company regarding her comments, Stone insisted she would not apologise "for face cream". However, the actress eventually admitted to being "deeply sorry" for her remarks trivializing the death of 68,000 people and the destruction of the homes of over 5 million.
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