Demi Moore Says Striptease was Misinterpreted by Many

Demi Moore has reflected on how one of her most criticized movies was plagued by the “misconceptions” that it was all about her flaunting her body. The movie in question was 1996’s Striptease , which starred Moore as a single mother who turns to stripping in order to make enough money to fight for the custody of her daughter, but ends up bringing danger to her door when becoming the obsession of someone who is used to getting exactly what they want.

Striptease drew a lot of criticism, becoming one of Moore’s lowest rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes with just a 13% Tomatometer score, and similarly low 24% approval rating from audiences. With most reviews agreeing that the film suffers from not being able to decide if it wants to be a thriller or satire, many reviewers seem unable to work out whether the sleazy undertone of the film is meant to be serious or darkly comic.

Moore shared her take on Striptease in a new interview with Variety, explaining how she took on the role for the specific reason of provoking “meaningful thought’ and not to show off her body. She said:

“One of the biggest misconceptions about me is that I loved my body. The reality is, so much of it was me calling in certain projects that would give me an opportunity to help me overcome insecurities about my body. It was the same with the Vanity Fair covers; it was not that I loved it — it was about trying to free myself from the space of enslavement that I had put myself in.

The other truth is, things that are provocative — not in a sexual way, but things that provoke meaningful thought — have always fascinated me. Take “Striptease”: 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. With “G.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. “Indecent Proposal” and “Disclosure” are similar in a sense. We’d never seen a woman as the aggressor, as the abuser.”

Demi Moore Shows Off Her Body Differently in The Substance

Demi Moore’s new movie, The Substance, has a lot to do with how women’s bodies are viewed by others, but not quite in the same way as Striptease. The film sees Moore in the role of Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging celebrity who takes drastic measures to change her appearance after being fired from her role hosting a fitness show. After injecting the substance of the title into herself in order to become a more youthful and perfect version of herself, things do not turn out exactly as she expected.

For the role, Moore was required to wear prosthetics on her body, something she has not been required to do previously, but which also became part of what intrigued her about the role in the first place. She said previously:

“I will say: reading it on paper is certainly a lot easier than what it actually is. It was also a part of what was enticing and exciting. The team was incredibly talented. But it’s time-consuming. It’s intense. It really does require that you get very Zen, to be still. But even with whatever discomfort or challenge – for me, it’s why you want to do something, because it’s so far outside of my normal baseline existence. And it was such an important part – and a unique way – of telling this story.”