Demi Moore is out here dropping truth bombs—and probably doing it in a much cooler outfit than the rest of us could ever pull off.
At the ripe young age of 61 (because let’s be honest, she’s aging like a fine wine that we can’t afford), Demi is reflecting on her legacy—which, for the record, includes things like being the highest-paid actress in Hollywood when she raked in a casual $12.5 million for Striptease. Yep, that’s right. For taking her clothes off, she put millions on. During a chat on The New York Times‘ The Interview podcast, she remembered the outrage that followed. Spoiler alert: it was the ‘90s, and apparently everyone forgot how to have fun for a minute.
“With Striptease, it was like I’d betrayed women. And with G.I. Jane, it was like I’d betrayed men,” she said, probably rolling her eyes so hard she could see the back of her head. Demi just couldn’t win—like she’d either ruined feminism or crashed the male ego party with one shaved head. Someone hand this woman a trophy for her crimes against fragile masculinity, please.
But then Demi got to the heart of the matter: “When I became the highest-paid actress, why was the immediate response to tear me down?” She’s not taking it personally, though. I mean, when you’ve seen as much as she has, you start to realize that the world just likes to give successful women a good ol’ slap in the face. It’s tradition! Especially if they’re bold enough to make money and be visible while doing it. “Because I did a film about stripping and bodies, I was totally shamed,” she added. And honestly, is it really the 1990s without a public shaming?
Now, at the time, Demi was married to Bruce Willis—yep, that Bruce Willis. And she knew exactly what his paychecks looked like. Probably because she’s better at math than all of us.
“It wasn’t about comparing myself to him,” she said. “I saw what he was paid, sure, but my thought was more like, ‘Why shouldn’t I get that too? I’m putting in the work. I’m clocking in, I’m clocking out. Where’s my money?’” Which, fair point, Demi. Fair point.
And then she brought up that iconic moment: her 1991 Vanity Fair cover. You know, the one where she’s pregnant, glowing, and very unhidden. It’s like society just couldn’t handle it: “Why do pregnant women need to be hidden? Like, are we pretending we didn’t do the deed? Is that the problem? ‘Oh no, she showed her belly, guess that means she had…sex!’”
You know what, Demi? You’ve always been way ahead of your time. Keep asking the real questions, and we’ll keep awkwardly pretending we don’t know the answers.
Now, if you want to hear her drop even more wisdom, go ahead and listen inside… Or just bask in the glory of someone who’s been there, done that, and earned every million along the way.
