- Moore became the highest-paid actress in the world for starring in the 1996 film
- Although panned by the critics, Striptease went onto earn $113m globally
- Moore spoke to the New York Times about her record breaking role
Demi Moore has opened up about becoming the world’s highest paid actress in 1996, when she received $12.5m for her starring role in Striptease.
The Andrew Bergman helmed black comedy was panned by critics and the criticism didn’t stop with the quality of the picture. Moore has opened up in a discussion during an appearance on the New York Times The Interview podcast about how she was shamed for taking part in the film, which involved the GI Jane star appearing topless in several scenes.
“Well, with Striptease, it was as if I had betrayed women, and with G.I. Jane, it was as if I had betrayed men. 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.”
Starring alongside Burt Reynolds (WITHOUT his moustache) and Ving Rhames, Moore played Erin Grant, a former FBI office assistant who becomes a stripper at a club in Miami as she attempts to win custody of her daughter from her ex-husband. Long story short, the film banged, regardless of what the critics said at the time. Not that the critics’ cruel words affected movie goers, who turned out in their droves across the globe to earn the movie $113m off a budget of $50m.
At the time of Striptease’s release, Moore was married to Bruce Willis, who had just enjoyed monster success with Pulp Fiction and the original Die Hard trilogy to become one of the world’s best paid actors.
“It wasn’t about comparing myself to him. 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.”
Moore, an Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, has recently received rave reviews for her performance in body horror film The Substance. The Coralie Fargeat picture received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival ranging between 9-13 minutes, depending on which report you believe.
