“It seemed silly to me,” the actress shared.

Gina Gershon says she turned down Friday the 13th role because of topless death scene: ‘Exploitation 101’

"It seemed silly to me," the actress shared.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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March 29, 2026 4:35 p.m. ET

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Gina Gershon on Feb. 25. Credit:

Gary Gershoff/Getty

Gina Gershon walked away from a beloved horror franchise over an "exploitative" topless scene, the *Showgirls* star recently told *Fox News Digital*.

Gershon was offered a major role in 1981's *Friday the 13th** Part 2,* the second installment in the cult slasher franchise, she recalled to the outlet about the Hollywood experience that taught her how to trust her gut.

"I was offered a lead in that movie," Gershon said. "And, of course, I was so excited to act in movies, but it definitely felt kind of exploitative to me and a little silly that right before she gets killed, her top has to come off."

In her upcoming memoir *AlphaPussy: How I Survived the Valley and Learned to Love My Boobs*, Gershon goes into detail while describing what the death scene would have entailed.

Actor John Furey in a scene from 'Friday the 13th Part 2' (1981). Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

"At the time, those kinds of slasher movies always had girls dying with their breasts exposed," she wrote, per Fox News. "My character would be killed by a stake through the heart, blood dripping down her t---. That seemed pretty lame to me: exploitation 101."

The offer came early in Gershon's career and would have marked her onscreen debut. But while she would later prove that showing skin was not an automatic no for her, Gershon had a lot of reservations about the *Friday the 13th* death scene. So she turned to her dad, hoping for advice.

"I was really lucky that I had a father who really taught me how to believe in my own decisions," Gershon said. "It wasn't like I had to rebel against my family. I remember asking him about it, thinking he was going to say, 'No daughter of mine is going to do that!' And he said, 'It's your body. If you're comfortable with it, I'm comfortable with it.'"

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In the end, it came down to a gut feeling.

"When I sat and thought about it, I just thought, 'I don't really want to do this. I wasn't comfortable with it. It seemed silly to me,'" Gershon shared. "Not that I had anything against nudity — I grew up on European films — but only if it makes sense for the character and the story. But when it just seems silly, I don't know. It just felt like it was something that wasn't for me."

Gina Gershon in 'Showgirls' (1995).

Gershon ended up making her onscreen debut that same year, as a dancer in *Beatlemania: The Movie*. She continued her ascent slowly, snagging another uncredited role in *Girls Just Want to Have Fun* and then making an impression with a small role in 1986's *Pretty in Pink.* After 1988's *Cocktail* and 1991's *Jungle Fever*, Gershon had her big breakout as Cristal Connors in Paul Verhoeven's 1995 erotic cult hit *Showgirls*, which saw her bare skin and take part in a gruesome sexual assault scene.

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At the time, Gershon offered some pushback over that particular inclusion, but recently admitted that she has changed her tune.

"It is really a comment on like ugly America, and on capitalism and power struggles and dynamics and all those things, that of course that rape scene has to be there," Gershon said during a recent radio show appearance. "It's the grossest thing in there — and the powerful men, they're all protected."

- Movie Genres

- Horror Movies

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Source: “EW Horror”