Dior says sorry that Sharon Stone is a lunatic

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When Sharon Stone commented to a Hong Kong TV channel at Cannes that the earthquake in China was some sort of karmic retribution for the country’s policy on Tibet, you could feel the tremors at Dior headquarters. Stone had just said that a possible death toll of 70,000 people could be chalked up to bad vibes, in essence. In the Financial Times, Dior said this: ‘We absolutely disagree with her hasty comments and we are also deeply sorry about them ... We will never support any opinion that hurts the feeling of the Chinese people.’

Clearly, Stone isn’t paid by the fashion house to double as a spiritual or political pundit. She’s paid to wear the makeup, wear the watches and look pretty. Mouth shut. But celebrities and models are human and often, their rants and escapades (Kate Moss) can affect a company’s image. After Moss was caught on film flirting madly with a pile of cocaine, cosmetics giant Rimmel kept her on as its face -- as did Burberry -- and it didn’t dent sales. But Moss wasn’t hurting anyone but herself -- and whomever went in on the coke, which she was hogging.

But when an actress makes a statement so silly -- as a crisis continues to unfold and paralyze an entire country -- she doesn’t deserve to be a ‘brand ambassador’ for any company. Isn’t it ironic that Stone is considered a brand ambassador for Dior when she could probably start a few wars in a matter of moments, if given the chance to mouth off.

Stone apologized and Dior has dropped her ads from running in China, but shouldn’t they dismiss her for making such a thoughtless comment?

Photo: Christian Dior