Demi Moore Opens Up About 1996 ‘Striptease’ $12.5 Million Salary Backlash
Demi Moore Reflects on Criticism Over Her Record-Breaking ‘Striptease’ Salary
September 18, 2024
By M Muzamil Shami
Demi Moore recently spoke about the backlash she faced in 1996 after securing a $12.5 million paycheck for Striptease, which made her the highest-paid female actor at the time.
In an interview on The New York Times’ podcast The Interview while promoting The Substance, Moore opened up about the "shame" surrounding her record-breaking salary. “With Striptease, it felt like I had betrayed women, and with G.I. Jane, I had betrayed men,” she said.
Moore questioned why her achievement of becoming the highest-paid actress was met with such criticism. “Why is it that, at that moment, the response was to tear me down? I don’t take it personally. I believe anyone in my position, being the first to achieve pay equity, would have faced the same backlash. But because I starred in a film centered around stripping and the body, I was intensely shamed.”
During her marriage to fellow actor Bruce Willis at the time, Moore revealed she never compared her earnings to his. “It wasn’t about comparing myself to him. Yes, I knew what he was getting paid, but my focus was, ‘Why shouldn’t I earn as much? If I’m putting in the same amount of work, why not?’”
Moore also drew parallels to her controversial Vanity Fair cover while pregnant. “It’s no different from when I posed pregnant on Vanity Fair. I didn’t understand why it was a big deal. Why do we have to hide pregnancy as if it’s something shameful? The fear is that showing a pregnant belly means acknowledging that sex happened."
Keywords :
Demi Moore, Striptease salary, highest-paid actress.
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