NEW YORK - Angela Bassett turned down a lead role in the movie "Monster's Ball" because she believed an affair the character had was demeaning and stereotypical, the actress said.

"It's about character, darling," she told Newsweek for the July 1 issue, which goes on newsstands Monday. "I wasn't going to be a prostitute on film. I couldn't do that because it's such a stereotype about black women and sexuality."

The actress, 43, made it clear that she didn't mean to criticize Halle Berry, who starred in the movie as a troubled waitress who had an affair with her husband's executioner. Berry made history as the first black woman to win an Academy Award.

Her explicit nude romp with Billy Bob Thornton is considered one of the hottest love scenes ever seen in a mainstream Hollywood flick. Bassett was one of several actresses who passed on the role in "Monster's Ball." She insisted she doesn't begrudge Berry for taking the part she rejected.

"It wasn't the role for me, but I told her she'd win, and I told her to get what was hers. Of course I want [an Oscar]. But it has to be for something I can sleep with at night," she told Newsweek. "It's about putting something out there you can be proud of 10 years later," she said. "I mean, Meryl Streep won Oscars without all that."

Berry's spokeswoman, Karen Sanfilippo, had no comment, the New York Post's Page Six reported. "Those are Angela's remarks. She should address them," she said.