Sharon Stone's Ex-Nanny, Erlinda Elemen, Says Actress Insulted Her for Being Filipina

Rage mode.

Basic Instinct actress Sharon Stone, who's no stranger to litigation from the help, is being sued by Erlinda T. Elemen, her three children's former live-in nanny, for allegedly criticizing her Filipino heritage. Also, for allegedly getting rid of the nanny because she accepted the overtime pay that Stone offered her...

... which does seem a really strange reason to fire someone. It also happens to violate labor laws -- hence the "wrongful termination" and "retaliation" allegations.

"Because abuses in overtime pay are common for household employees, it seems ironic that Ms. Stone initially did the right thing and paid Mrs. Elemen overtime wages, and then terminated her for accepting those same wages," says the nanny's lawyer in a press release.

Here is the suit's most offensive bit.

From on or about August 2010 throughout the duration of her employment, Plaintiff was repeatedly subjected to numerous derogatory comments and slurs by Defendant Stone related to her Filipino ethnicity and heritage. These statements included, without limitation, comments about Plaintiff's Filipino accent (i.e. Plaintiff was instructed to refrain from speaking to the children because Defendant did not want them to "talk like you"), comments about Filipino food, and comments which equated being Filipino with being stupid. During that same period of time, Defendant Stone was repeatedly verbally dismissible of Plaintiff's deeply held religious beliefs, criticized Plaintiff for frequently attending church and, on one occasion, forbade Plaintiff from reading the bible in Plaintiff's room in Defendant's residence.

Elemen says she lived and traveled with the kids for five full years as Stone's "head nanny" (implying, um, multiple nannies), so Stone couldn't have thought the caretaker's Flipina-ness was that damaging to her offspring. But if these allegations are true, she wasn't very good at showing her gratitude.

Oh, L.A. moms -- handing their kids off to immigrants and then complaining when they pick up another language.

[@simone_electra / swilson@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]