Michael Douglas has addressed the homophobic claims which engulfed his hit thriller Basic Instinct. The actor, now 82, starred as the lead in the erotic thriller back in 1992, but prior to it becoming a cult classic the film faced heavy criticism from the LGBTQ+ community. Two of the films protagonists, Catherine Tramell and her lover Roxy Hardy were both killers and gay and lesbian groups launched a campaign ‘claiming that the film constituted “gay-bashing.”‘ Now, speaking candidly about the controversy, Michael has hit back at the claims in his new autobiography One Helluva Ride. He wrote: ‘The gay community pounced, accusing Basic Instinct of being homophobic…. I never thought the film was homophobic or detrimental to the queer community. ‘The roles didn’t perpetuate stereotypes, it was just that at a time when there weren’t many queer characters onscreen, people were upset to finally have two lesbian characters in a major Hollywood movie only for them to both be killers.He added: ‘Not every movie needs to carry the burden of positive representation. Michael Douglas has hit back at Basic Instinct homophobic claims and says he ‘never thought it was detrimental to the queer community’ (pictured with Jeanne Tripplehorn in the film) Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone, R) and her lover Roxy Hardy (Leilani Sarelle, L) were both killers and gay and lesbian groups launched a campaign ‘claiming that the film constituted “gay-bashing””Part of what set Basic Instinct apart from Fatal Attraction, where I felt the characters and story were believable, grounded in reality, was that Basic Instinct was meant to be more like a sexy detective novel, fast-moving and pulpy, a movie that should be able to present extreme characters without a real-life cultural impact.’Protests then began, with demonstrators turning up to sets and destroying takes.’The protests started with a couple of demonstrations but culminated in something much larger,’ wrote Michael. ‘As we were shooting an exterior scene in a square in San Francisco, we had sixty police officers and SWAT-like teams surrounding our production, just to keep control of the hundreds of protesters.’These groups flashed lights into our cameras and blew whistles at inopportune moments while we were rolling, which destroyed takes.’The delays cost time and money A more damaging incident occurred when protesters doused the outside of our bar location in paint, shutting down production for the whole day. ‘They said our script made lesbians seem man-hating and psychotic (which was true… for one lesbian) and believed it would provoke hate crimes (which was quite a stretch).’After a meeting with the writer Joe Eszterhas, director Paul Verhoeven and producer Alan Marshall – Michael believed Joe would stand by the script. However he did a U-turn and Michael revealed that after the protesters made it clear they knew his home address, the screenwriter changed his stance abruptly. There was a giant headline in the Los Angeles Times. May 1, 1991 which read ‘Eszterhas Presses for ‘Basic Instinct’ Script Changes: The Screenwriter Is Swayed by Gay Outcry, but Director Paul Verhoeven Rejects His Call for Revisions. Police Arrest 25 Protesters.’Michael explained: ‘In one interview after another, Eszterhas made it seem like Verhoeven and I were responsible for the screenplay, and he was just a poor victim. ‘Variety reported that Eszterhas agreed to changes in many scenes and to recasting one part. Which part, I don’t know and can’t imagine. Michael wrote: ‘I cared about what the gay community was saying… but I also reserve and demand the right to sometimes make a movie that is just pure entertainment without having to be the moral custodian of society’ (pictured Sharon) Michael added: ‘To anyone who consider this movie outrageous, I’d say, that’s right, it’s supposed to be outrageous. It’s supposed to push all the buttons’ (Michael pictured with Sharon) It comes as he stepped out for Jimmy Kimmel live in LA on Friday He put on an animated display ahead of the show He has been doing a blitz of publicity amid his book release ‘This is the man who got $3 million for a script that he refused to change. And no matter what you’re paid, you’re supposed to be part of the team. He abandoned us. ‘For me, Joe Eszterhas will always be the coward who caved under pressure just to deflect the heat from himself.’Michael, Paul and the production company Carolco Pictures issued their own statement: ‘Basic Instinct is a psychological thriller… It is not a negative depiction of lesbians and bisexuals. ‘Censorship by street action will not be tolerated. While these groups have a right to express their opinions, they have no right to threaten First Amendment guarantees. Filming in San Francisco will continue as scheduled.’Michael added: ‘Now, I cared about what the gay community was saying. I had been, and still am, a huge supporter of gay rights. ‘I’ve made my fair share of movies that have had an impact, but I also reserve and demand the right to sometimes make a movie that is just pure entertainment without having to be the moral custodian of society. ‘To anyone who consider this movie outrageous, I’d say, that’s right, it’s supposed to be outrageous. It’s supposed to push all the buttons. ‘It was made when we were all just coming out of the era of Reagan conservativism, and I wanted to do something to blow that up!’