Dior drops Sharon Stone after quake comments

Sharon Stone used to be a great ad for fewer wrinkles, but the 50-year-old's outburst linking the Sichuan earthquake to bad karma because of China's policy on Tibet means Christian Dior posters are coming down all over the Chinese capital.

The French fashion house has issued an apology for Stone's comments and pulled her from its Chinese ad campaign for anti-ageing products. And in good time, it appears, given that the Xinhua news agency has described Stone as "the public enemy of all mankind".

Stone is reasonably popular in China, having appeared at the Shanghai Film Festival last year, and she was well received for her comments about life and love, as well as her praise for China's ancient civilisation. At the same time, the face-cream saleswoman did cause consternation for accusing people of being skin-deep in their thinking about wrinkles. But that was nothing compared to the bad karma comments.

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Stone said she was "deeply sorry" for causing anguish and anger among Chinese people for her candid, ill-judged remarks about China's worst natural disaster in three decades. So far, the Sichuan earthquake has killed about 70,000 people and left five million homeless.

"My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologise for this," the Basic Instinct star said in a statement issued by Dior China. "I am willing to take part in the relief work of China's earthquake and wholly devote myself to helping affected Chinese people."

It has to be said that her words were astoundingly ill-timed. Stone made her comments at Cannes, linking the recent disaster to China's treatment of Tibetans during anti-Chinese riots in March. The storm of indignation in the Chinese media is reminiscent of the anger in China when protesters tried to stop the Olympic torch passing through Western cities amid a wave of protest at China's crackdown on Tibet.

Even the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has praised the Chinese response to the quake, prayed for the victims and called for a suspension of protests against China as relief efforts continue.

The Beijing government is currently enjoying a wave of popularity, at home and abroad, because of the decisive way the Communist Party handled the earthquake and for its openness in allowing foreign aid into China. World leaders, including Gordon Brown, have described China's response as "magnificent".

The Chinese acting elite has also condemned Stone's remarks. "This actress does not deserve our attention. The best way is to ignore her. I will never watch her films in future," said Liu Wei, who is best known for Zhou Yu's Train. Another actor, known in the West as a star of the hit film Lost In Beijing, said: "The earthquake is not only China's disaster but a disaster for all of mankind. Sharon Stone's performance shows that not only does she lack love, but she lacks humanity! How could she say such things?"

The Chinese foreign ministry merely said: "We hope that as an actress she should contribute to our two people's mutual trust, understanding and friendship."

Deal breakers

Kate Moss

The fashion store H&M dropped the model, below, as the face of a clothing range by Stella McCartney after The Mirror printed photographs claiming to show her snorting cocaine in 2006. Burberry and Chanel followed suit.

Lindsay Lohan

The actress was sacked by her British label, Island Records, after she failed to turn up to the UK for promotional work for her album, Speak, in 2006. An industry insider was quoted as saying that her music had been a huge flop over here "because Lindsay couldn't be botheredto promote it".

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Warner Brothers dropped the heiress in 2007, blaming poor sales of her album Paris. But with a 23-day spell in jail imminent for violating her probation after a drink-driving arrest, the company may have had other reasons to end the association.