Sharon Stone Says She 'Lost Half My Money to This Banking Thing': 'Not an Easy Time'

Sharon Stone is feeling the financial impact of the ongoing banking saga.

The Academy Award nominee, 65, said she "lost half my money to this banking thing," presumably referring to two major bank failures but still planned to write a check to the Women's Cancer Research Fund in a tearful speech at Thursday's An Unforgettable Evening benefit gala in Beverly Hills.

"And right now, that's courage too," she said. "Because I know what's happening. I just lost half my money to this banking thing, and that doesn't mean that I'm not here. My brother just died, and that doesn't mean that I'm not here. This is not an easy time for any of us."

"This is a hard time in the world, but I'm telling you what, I'm not having some politician tell me what I can and cannot do, tell me I can and cannot live and what the value of my life is and is not. So stand up. Stand up and say what you're worth, I dare you. That's what courage is," added Stone.

Although Stone did not elaborate on what she meant by "banking thing," her statement comes after two of the three largest bank failures in the country's history — following Washington Mutual in 2008 — took place last weekend within the span of 48 hours.

The U.S. government seized Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank following a bank run that collapsed the financial institutions, according to the Associated Press. Federal regulators have since guaranteed all deposits and created a program to shield other banks from similar incidents.

President Joe Biden has since offered the public a sense of calm with the assurance: "Your deposits will be there when you need them."

Stone, who was honored with the Courage Award at An Unforgettable Evening for her support of breast cancer research, told PEOPLE on the red carpet that after having benign tumors removed from her breast in 2001, she's since had another surgery to remove tissue from her breast.

"And that might seem funny coming from me since you've all seen them," she said. "But let me tell you something else — you've seen them since the surgery, and you don't know it.

"So don't ever feel compelled not to get a mammogram, not to get a blood test, not to get surgery, because it doesn't matter. I'm standing here telling you I had one and a half and more tissue of my breast removed, and none of you even knew it," added Stone.