Demi Moore revealed how her ex Bruce Willis influenced her to demand a $12.5 million salary for her role in Striptease.
The 61-year-old star became the highest paid female actress in the world with her huge payday for the 1996 movie, in which she played a stripper.
She told the New York Times newspaper's The Interview podcast that she requested the pay not to compare herself to her mega-star then-husband, 69 — who is currently battling frontotemporal dementia — but because she wanted equal pay.
'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?"'
She compared the situation to her famous Vanity Fair magazine cover, and called out the reaction to the photoshoot.
Demi Moore, 61, revealed how her ex Bruce Willis, 69, influenced her to demand a $12.5 million salary for her role in Striptease; she is seen September 16 in LA
'It wasn't about comparing myself to him... It was really more about: "Why shouldn’t I? If I'm doing the same amount of work, why shouldn't I?"' she said on The Interview podcast; the pair seen at the 1996 Striptease premiere
She added: '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.'
Demi explained how she felt a fierce backlash over her earnings for 'Striptease', as people 'shamed' her for the role and her payday.
She said: '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.'
Demi recently described landing the record-breaking salary as 'so powerful', despite the criticism she came under.
The star became the highest paid female actress in the world with her huge payday for the movie, in which she played a stripper; seen in a still
Demi explained how she felt a fierce backlash over her earnings for 'Striptease', as people 'shamed' her for the role and her payday
'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?' she questioned; seen in September
Demi was married to fellow Hollywood star Bruce — who is currently battling frontotemporal dementia — from 1987 until 2000. They share daughters Rumer Willis, 36, Scout Willis, 33, and Tallulah Willis, 30; seen in 1996
She told Variety: 'It wasn’t just about me; it was about changing the playing field for all women. But because I was portraying a stripper, I betrayed women.'
Demi has been busy promoting her new body-horror film The Substance, in which she plays a TV aerobics instructor who, after being fired, learns of The Substance, a secret serum that creates a separate, alternate version of herself (played by Margaret Qualley) that will allow her to exist in a younger body.
She recently attended the premiere of the film alongside three daughters — Rumer Willis, 36, Scout Willis, 33, and Tallulah Willis, 30 — in Los Angeles.
It comes after Demi recently shared how she helps her daughters cope with their father Bruce's frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
Demi was married to fellow Hollywood star Bruce from 1987 until 2000.
While appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show, the actress revealed the advice that she gives to her children when it comes to communicating with their dad as he battles a condition that impacts his cognitive abilities.
'What I say to my kids is you meet them where they're at. You don't hold on to who they were or what you want them to be, but who they are in this moment,' she said.
Moore continued: 'And from that, there is such beauty and joy and loving and sweetness. When I'm in L.A., I go over every week, and I really treasure the time that we all share.'
It comes after Demi recently shared how she helps her daughters cope with their father Bruce's frontotemporal dementia diagnosis; Demi and her girls seen September 16 in LA
'What I say to my kids is you meet them where they're at. You don't hold on to who they were or what you want them to be, but who they are in this moment,' she said; Bruce pictured here in 2019 with Demi, their daughters and his current wife Emma Heming Willis
Moore's daughter, Tallulah, recently revealed that she and her family have found it 'really special' to use their public platforms to 'spread awareness' of the degenerative condition.
She said: 'What's going on with my dad is that he has a really aggressive cognitive disease, a form of dementia that is very rare.
'I think [being open] is twofold. On one hand, it's who we are as a family but also it's really important to spread awareness about FTD because we had no idea. And to advance and use, again, it's like the bigger version of what I'm trying to do.
'If we can take something that we're struggling with as a family and individually to help other people, to turn it around, to make something really beautiful out of it, then that's really special for us.'
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