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

'The Substance' is in theaters Sept. 20

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

As Moore and costar Margaret Qualley arrived in Toronto for the film's North American premiere during the opening night of the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, Sept. 5, the 61-year-old actress told Deadline that 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 [about The 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 after The Substance made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Related: Demi Moore Reveals She Got Shingles While Filming Her New Movie The Substance and 'Lost 20 Lbs.'

In The Substance, Moore plays a celebrity named Elizabeth Sparkle, who tries a black-market drug to create a younger version of herself. That new version of the character, Sue, is played by Qualley.

The official synopsis for 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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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 Substance is in theaters Sept. 20.

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