Demi Moore Says It's 'Sad' to See 'Shaming' Headlines About Nudity inThe Substance: 'It's the Least Part of the Movie'

Mar. 15, 2025

Demi Moore at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 5, 2024.Photo:Cindy Ord/Getty

Cindy Ord/Getty

Demi Mooreis calling out how coverage of her new movie,The Substance, has sometimes solely focused on its nude scenes.

As Moore and costarMargaret Qualleyarrived in Toronto for the film’s North American premiere during the opening night of theToronto International Film Festivalon Thursday, Sept. 5, the 61-year-old actress toldDeadlinethat while she does not typically read reviews of her movies, she has noticed some press around this one revolves disproportionately around the on-screen nudity.

“It’s interesting, I just saw a couple of little headlines [aboutThe Substance], particularly in English-speaking press, and it was interesting almost to the point of the movie that the way they were putting the headline was only focused on it being about nudity,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Oh, how sad that it’s kind of being presented in a way that’s shaming and diminishing.’ It’s the least part of the movie.”

Moore and Qualley, 29, were on hand along with director Coralie Fargeat for the festival’s Midnight Madness screening afterThe Substancemade its world premiere at theCannes Film Festivalin May.

From Left: Margaret Qualley, Coralie Fargeat and Demi Moore on Sept. 5, 2024.Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic

Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic

Theofficial synopsisfor the film teases how the fictional drug works: “It generates another you. A new, younger, more beautiful, more perfect, you. And there’s only one rule: You share time. One week for you. One week for the new you. Seven days each. A perfect balance. Easy. Right? If you respect the balance… what could possibly go wrong?”

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Demi Moore in ‘The Substance’.MUBI/YouTube

MUBI/YouTube

PEOPLE spoke with Fargeat on the red carpet Friday, Sept. 6, where the French filmmaker reveals selling the movie to Moore was “surprisingly easy.”

“To be honest, when her name came up, you know, when we were thinking about actresses, I said, ‘Oh, forget it. She will never want to do something like that. Let’s not lose time, you know,’ " the director says.

She adds, “And then I said, ‘Well, we have nothing to lose. Let’s just send the script.’ And when I heard that she responded in a positive way, it was something very strong that I felt that it could be such a great match for the role.”

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“And so when we met, we took a lot of time to discuss the film, about what it was going to be, really the specificity of the film that I wanted to do to because both of us, we needed to be sure that we could build that trust to go all in because I knew that what the role was requesting,” Fargeat continues.

“I wanted to be sure that she would feel that like, you know, jumping into such a different movie than what she was used to. And I think she’s a very instinctive actress in person. I think she felt strongly that the project was resonating with her,” the director says of Moore.

The Substanceis in theaters Sept. 20.

source: people.com