Sharon Stone defends Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd show The Idol after nudity criticism

Sharon Stone sang the praises of the controversial TV show The Idol after it debuted its first two episodes at the Cannes Film Festival.

The 65, who shared sizzling bikini snaps on social media, praised the performances of Lily-Rose Depp, 24, and The Weeknd, 33, who star in the series about a pop star trying to reclaim her career after a nervous breakdown.

The episodes received a five-minute standing ovation after screening.

The show has been panned by critics for its sexual content, but the Basic Instinct star had a different take.

“Just watched the first two episodes of @theidol @lilyrose_depp and Abel (@theweeknd) so definitely,” the Oscar nominee said.

She went on to praise director and co-creator Sam Levinson, saying he “tackles the root cause of the crisis in entertainment; What comes first, the brilliance of the heartbreak?”

The show has been overhauled for what many critics see as unnecessary nudity.

Lily-Rose Depp stars as pop star Jocelyn, who is trying to make a comeback after a nervous breakdown following the death of her mother.

The Weeknd is a club owner and cult leader who gets caught up in the singer and her career.

Director and co-creator Sam Levinson spoke that a news conference Wednesday in Cannes.

“We live in a very sexualized world,” he said, “especially in the United States, and I think the influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of, I think, young people in the United States.

“We see this in pop music and how it reflects the underbelly of the internet.”

“I think it’s very true to what almost every pop star is doing these days.”

The Idol: Lily-Rose Depp stars as pop star Jocelyn, trying to make a comeback after a nervous breakdown following the death of her mother. The Weeknd is a club owner and cult leader who gets caught up in the singer and her career

Confident: The Idol has been panned by critics for its sexual content, but the Basic Instinct star took a different view, calling Lily-Rose and The Weeknd’s performances “confident”

Lily-Rose said she was involved in creating all aspects of her character Joselyn, including the amount of on-screen nudity.

“I think the character’s occasional nudity physically mirrors the nudity that we see in her emotionally and that’s something that I felt was really important to the character.”

In an interview with Entertainment tonightthe actress said she was inspired by Sharon Stone, along with screen sirens Lauren Bacall and Gene Tierney.

The Weekend, 33, whose legal name is Abel Tesfaye, wanted to tackle his home field.

“I initially wanted to make a dark, twisted fairytale with the music industry and everything I know about it, and amplify it,” he explained.

The Blinding Lights artist collaborated with the show’s creators.

“We really wanted to focus on ‘can we create our own pop star? Can we create someone who’s trying to find themselves?'”

He said he used his own experiences along with Sam and Lily’s “to create something special, daring, exciting, fun… made people laugh, made some people mad.”

Sex Scenes: Director Sam Levinson spoke about the sex scenes on the show saying, “I think the influence of pornography is really strong in terms of the psyche of, I think, young people in the United States. We see this in pop music and how it reflects the underbelly of the internet’

Character development: Lily-Rose said she was involved in creating all aspects of her character Joselyn. “I think the character’s occasional nudity physically mirrors the nudity we get to see emotionally in her,” she explained.

Inspiration: Lily-Rose told Entertainment Tonight that Sharon Stone inspired her performance on The Idol

Screen sirens: Lily Rose said she also drew inspiration from screen sirens Lauren Bacall and Gene Tierney

Experience: The Weeknd cooperated in the field. “I initially wanted to take a dark, twisted fairytale with the music industry and everything I know about it and amplify it,” he explained, revealing that the plot was inspired by his own experiences and Lily’s.

Rape fantasy: Rolling Stone spoke to 13 members of the Idol crew who were angry about the tone of the show. “It was like any rape fantasy any toxic man would have on the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one complained.

Some of those “pissed off” people include 13 members of the crew who told Rolling stone the tone of the show changed after director Amy Seimetz left the project.

“It was like any rape fantasy any toxic man would have on the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” a crew member told the outlet.

Another agreed, saying, “It was like, ‘What is this? What am I reading here?’ It was like sexual torture porn.”

The Idol debuts June 4 on HBO Max.