Rumer Willis responds to 'harsh' criticism of photo shoot: 'I was not prepared for the amount of negativity'

While co-hosting The Talk on Monday, Rumer Willis opened up about a series of photos that she appeared in that were taken with photographer and friend Tyler Shields. In two of the images, which were shared to Instagram in late September, the actress rocked a leather bodysuit with thigh-high boots. In another picture, she wore nothing but the boots while the whip was wrapped around her body and wrists.

The pictures are meant to be a commentary on the expectations placed on women from having children to getting dressed. “There are so many rules on what you can do, what you can’t do and what you can’t share, and I don’t know, there was a part of me that was just feeling really empowered and good about myself, and I wanted to share it,” the 32-year-old said.

Though many of Willis’s celebrity friends praised her for the photos, she faced harsh criticism. “I knew that it would probably bring up a lot of comments, but I was not at all prepared for the amount of negativity,” she admitted. “It was really harsh. ... I mean people saying you should be ashamed of yourself and this is disgusting.”

Willis added that there were comments accusing her photos of being harmful to trauma survivors, but countered that there are survivors that do participate in bοndage for empowerment.

Rumer revealed that her famous parents, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, had not seen the photos because “they’re both not the most tech-savvy,” Rumer shared. She did note, however, that they have always been her biggest cheerleaders: “They’ve always been very supportive of us, of all my sisters and just kind of exploring everything, especially because we are a household of so many women, why not celebrate it?”

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