Nearly 30 years after Showgirls shocked audiences and critics alike, Elizabeth Berkley is reflecting on the emotional toll the film’s backlash took on her and the resilience that followed.

Speaking at a 30th-anniversary screening of the 1995 erotic drama in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, the 53-year-old actress recalled how the experience left her feeling isolated. “I took a beating, guys,” People reported Berkley as telling fans during a Q&A. “It was not fun for a little while. I’m not going to lie. It was painful. I was isolated. I felt abandoned by the very people I collaborated with.”

She added, “I’m not a victim. I have never been a victim. I will never be a victim. And because of your love and your embrace of this film, in the face of that vitriolic cruelty from journalists and

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