Striptease follows a former FBI secretary who becomes a stripper to take care of her daughter. The 1996 movie starring Demi Moore continues to be controversial, and she addressed the backlash she received in a new interview.
“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?” Moore, 63, asked in The New York Times’ The Interview. “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.”
The Ghost star was paid $12.5 million for the role, which became part of the conversation about the fight for women to receive equal pay in their field. Moore became the highest-paid actress with this salary, but she didn’t appreciate the framing of her salary. The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Juror were the other movies that were released the same year.
“I think language is really important. And I think when we look at something as a fight, I think againstness breeds againstness. So I don’t think that I was looking at it as fighting for something,” she explained at the Step Up’s 2026 Inspiration Awards, according to PEOPLE. It also didn’t help that she was portraying for a stripper for the high-paying role and the movie was panned by critics.
Zoe Saldaña is currently the highest-paid actress after earning $15.47 billion, according to The Numbers. It helps that she has roles in multiple successful franchises, such as Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Trek. Saldaña, 48, won her first Oscar for best supporting actress in Emilia Pérez. Oscars can result in higher pay for actors.
This story Demi Moore on the ‘Hit’ She Took for ‘Striptease’ Record-Breaking Salary first appeared on InTouch Weekly. Follow InTouch Weekly on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.