Demi Moore Felt Judged for Playing a Stripper in 1996'sStripteaseas If 'I Betrayed Women'

Mar. 15, 2025

Demi Mooreis looking back at the responses she got after portraying a stripper inStriptease.

In the 1996 comedy, the actress starred as a single mom who gets a job as an exotic dancer to help fund her custody battle. Moore, 61, toldVarietyin a new interview why she took the role and how it was received at the time.

“TakeStriptease: There was an interesting kind of judgment placed on a woman who worked as a dancer, but the idea was that this was a woman trying to take care of her child in the best way she could,” she said.

Moore then added of her role in 1997’sG.I. Jane, “I thought, ‘If a woman is skilled enough and has the desire to [serve], why wouldn’t we want her there?’ I didn’t understand why that door was closed. Many of my films had similar themes.”

The star (who said a producer once called her a “‘popcorn actress,’ meaning I’m not a critically acclaimed kind of actress”) also recalled how she was put under a lens when those two films came out along with reports about her paydays for them.

“I didStripteaseandG.I. Janeback to back. If anything in this industry has ever been stacked against me, it was having those two films come out at the same time and becoming the highest-paid actress on top of that,” she said. “Thatmoment was so powerful for me because it wasn’t just about me; it was about changing the playing field for all women.”

“But,” added Moore, “because I was portraying a stripper, I betrayed women. And because I played a soldier, I betrayed men.”

Demi Moore on May 23, 2024.Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty

Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty

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“The narrative quickly became, ‘Well, she’s only getting paid that number because she’s playing a stripper.’ It hit me really hard,” continued the actress. “But at the same time, I understood that anybody who steps out first is going to take the hit. That goes for anybody challenging the status quo.”

The Substanceis in theaters Sept. 20.

source: people.com