Sharon Stone claims ex-husband signed her up for brain surgery without her consent after stroke
Sharon Stone Reveals 2001 Hospital Incident In Which She Was Moved for Surgery Without Consent
MAYIM BIALIK’S “BREAKDOWN” – Actress Sharon Stone, 68, spoke publicly in a recent appearance on the Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown podcast about a traumatic medical episode she endured in 2001. Stone said that after a subarachnoid hemorrhage and stroke left her in and out of consciousness, she was transported on a gurney to the neurosurgical suite without having given permission.
Stone recalled waking up on the gurney in a neurological intensive‑care unit and being wheeled toward “exploratory brain surgery.” She said her then‑husband, Phil Bronstein, had signed her up for the operation without her knowledge. “First I woke up, and I was being wheeled to exploratory brain surgery,” she told the podcast audience. “He had signed me up for exploratory brain surgery without my knowledge or consent.”
According to Stone, a doctor informed her that the procedure had already been arranged. “Don’t worry. It’s all been taken care of,” the physician said. Stone described standing on the gurney with her hospital gown open, feeling a sudden rush of embarrassment when the doctor began to talk on the phone. “You can’t do that. I’m on the phone with People magazine,” the doctor allegedly shouted. Stone confronted the doctor, insisting that she had not consented to any surgery, to which the physician replied, “Yes, you did. I said you did. And I’m on the phone with People magazine,” implying that she had communicated Stone’s consent to the media.
Stone said that, after arguing with the doctor, she fired him. A head nurse, who Stone said was a “50‑year‑old head nurse, a beautiful blonde woman,” later admitted to the doctor that Stone had indeed been moved to the operating room. “She just did, sir. She just did,” the nurse reportedly said. Stone expressed gratitude to the nurse, saying, “I wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for her.”
Stone also shared that Bronstein had initially delayed taking her to the hospital and had told doctors that she was “faking it.” She said that the delay and subsequent actions contributed to her suffering during the acute phase of her condition.
The hospital episode took place in 2001, following a subarachnoid hemorrhage that left Stone in the neurological intensive care unit for nine days. Stone’s recovery has been detailed in several public statements, including a 2014 essay in The Hollywood Reporter and a January 2012 interview with AARP. In those accounts, she explained that she spent two years relearning how to walk and talk, stuttering after the stroke and losing her reading ability for an extended period. Stone has repeatedly highlighted the low survival rate for patients in her condition.
In the years following the incident, Stone’s personal life also went through significant changes. She and Bronstein separated in July 2003, and their divorce was finalized in early 2004. The couple had one son, Roan. In 2008 a San Francisco court denied Stone’s attempt to change the custody arrangement that made Bronstein’s San Francisco home Roan’s primary residence, granting Stone visitation rights instead.
Stone has suggested that her career—particularly her role in the 1992 film Basic Instinct—may have influenced the outcome of the custody dispute. “I had had a brain hemorrhage and was an actress who had made sexy movies,” she told AARP in 2012, noting that the public perception of her may have impacted the legal process.
The podcast interview was the most recent opportunity Stone has had to detail the events of that 2001 hospital stay. She remains an active voice in discussions about medical consent and patient rights, drawing upon her own experience to raise awareness.