Demi Moore‘s record-breaking payday didn’t come without some blowback from the public.
The Golden Globe nominee recently reflected on the criticism around her risqué starring role in 1996’s Striptease, as well as the controversy that came with her reported $12.5 million salary for the Andrew Bergman-helmed film.
“Well, with Striptease, it was as if I had betrayed women, and with G.I. Jane, it was as if I had betrayed men,” explained Moore on The New York Times‘ The Interview podcast. “But I think the interesting piece is that when I became the highest-paid actress — why is it that, at that moment, the choice was to bring me down? I don’t take this personally. I think anyone who had been in the position that was the first to get that kind of equality of pay would probably have taken a hit. But because I did a film that was dealing with the world of stripping and the body, I was extremely shamed.”
She starred in Striptease as Erin Grant, a former FBI office assistant who takes a job dancing at a Miami strip club out of desperation as she fights to win custody of her daughter back from her ex-husband. The dark comedy also starred Burt Reynolds and Ving Rhames.
Moore was married to Bruce Willis at the time, and their daughter Rumer Willis appeared in the film as her character’s daughter Angela. Meanwhile, Bruce had become known for his leading roles in Die Hard (1988), Hudson Hawk (1991) and Pulp Fiction (1994).
Demi Moore in Striptease (1996).
“It wasn’t about comparing myself to him,” she said. “Yes, I saw what he got paid. It was really more about: ‘Why shouldn’t I? If I’m doing the same amount of work, why shouldn’t I?’ And it’s no different than when I did the cover for Vanity Fair pregnant. I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal, why women when they were pregnant needed to be hidden? Why is it that we have to deny that we had sex? That’s the fear, right, that if you show your belly, that means, oh, my gosh, you’ve had sex.”
Striptease went on to earn $113 million globally but was panned by critics.
