Sharon Stone says she has felt 'pitted against' Madonna, but 'secretly champions' her

• In her new memoir, Sharon Stone said the press has pit her against Madonna.
• Stone writes that she once cohosted a charity event with Madonna, who later called her "mediocre."
• Stone said that she "secretely champions" the singer, and admires her "strength of character."

In her new memoir, "The Beauty of Living Twice," Sharon Stone writes that she "secretly champions" Madonna even though she has felt "pitted against" the singer by the media.

In one chapter of the book, Stone recounts going to the Cannes Film Festival in France to host an event being put on by amfAR, the foundation that raises money for AIDS research. Her cohost that year was Madonna.

"We have often been pitted against each other as this has been the way that the press, and I would have to say society in general, has found to bind women of our and past generations," Stone writes.

"There was not a place for women to find camaraderie, alliance, or safety with one another. It was put to us that there could be room for only one."

Stone says that she feels society has taught women that the only thing they might have in common was their "competitiveness" or their interest in a particular man. Stone adds that on occasion she has "fallen in line" with this belief "as there was no other one presented."

However, Stone now feels differently and believes that she and Madonna have had many shared experiences "travelling somewhat side by side on our road of fame, aging in public and so forth."

Stone says that because of their shared experience she feels close to Madonna.

"I feel as if I secretly champion her. I know she feels the same. We stand up for each other being asked. We know the pitfalls of being who we are and have been when we were breaking barriers in our respective fields," Stone writes.

"I have tried to learn from her at times and to empathise with her at others. The one thing I always have for her is love."

It's not the first time Stone has said she's felt "pitted against" Madonna.

In 2017, Stone said as much after one of the singer's private letters from the 1990s were published in which Madonna called Stone "horribly mediocre."

In a response on Facebook, Stone wrote then: "Know that I am your friend" and called the publication of the letters, which were entered into an auction, "absurd."

"The Beauty of Living Twice" is out now, and contains some shocking reveals from the life and career of Stone, including her experience of making "Basic Instinct" and working with certain movie producers.