Sharon Stone, 61, frees the nipple in topless 'Basic Instinct' inspired shoot

Sharon Stone has gone topless on a magazine cover.

In the series of photos, the 61-year-old Hollywood actress fronts Vogue Portugal’s ‘Sex issue’ for May.

The topless shot sees the star floating in a swimming pool with her bare breasts visible above the water’s surface.

In another image, Stone wears fishnets, stiletto heels and a plunging leotard while posing provocatively and looking straight at the camera.

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The strident pose is a nod to Stone’s most iconic scene in 1992 film ‘Basic Instinct’, where she uncrosses her legs to reveal she isn’t wearing underwear during a police interrogation.

There’s a further reference to this scene in another image taken by photographer Branislav Simoncik, where Stone poses in a white, leg-baring dress which resembles the one she wore in the film.

In the accompanying interview, Stone addresses the idea of being “fuckable” in Hollywood.

She says: “When I entered the business the term ‘fuckable’ was used to see if you were employable.

“The studio executives sat around a large table and discussed whether or not each of us was in fact ‘fuckable’. They thought I was not.

“I gave this some hard thought as I wanted to work, so I did a strategically planned semi-naked Playboy shoot. Did I fit the part? Obviously not. Did I use my brain to figure out how to appear ‘fuckable’? You bet. (…) So no, is the answer. I didn’t and I don’t [feel like a sex symbol].”

The shoot has already garnered a huge reaction on social media.

The magazine’s editor-in-chief Sofia Lucas claimed her first, uncensored post of the nipple-baring cover was blocked, meaning she has posted a second post with Stone’s nipples crossed out.

Female nipples have proved a polarising issue in recent years.

Earlier this year, Adam Levine performed topless at the 2019 Super Bowl half time show, drawing comparisons with Janet Jackson’s so-called ‘Nipplegate’ incident at the same event in 2004.

Back in 2017, Boots was criticised for refusing to print photographs taken during a “Free the nipple” march.