Turns out, there’s a good chance you’ve been saying Demi Moore’s name wrong this entire time.
The Hollywood icon, 63, once again found herself correcting fans after a viral Instagram clip showed people in New York City calling her “Deh-mee” while she signed autographs and posed for photos on the sidewalk.
“Remember, it’s ‘Duh-mee,’” Moore said with a smile in the video posted to Instagram on April 28.
The clip quickly triggered a wave of stunned reactions online from fans, who realized they’d apparently been getting it wrong for years.
“These people stay hours there waiting for her and can’t learn how to pronounce her name…” one Instagram user commented.
“I feel sad. I’ve said her name wrong for decades,” another wrote.
A third added: “I’ve been pronouncing it wrong for 40 years!”
The Substance star has been politely correcting people for decades, including during a 1988 interview with NBC affiliate KCRA, when host Harry Martin addressed her using the more common pronunciation.
“And we’re quite fond of it,” Moore said after explaining that her parents came up with the name. “I think they just pulled it out of a magazine or something.”
She also admitted that the mix-up happened constantly.
“People get it wrong all the time,” Moore said. “I have a tough time with it, but it’s OK.”
“So you don’t get mad if I pronounce it then, do you?” Martin asked.
“No, no,” Moore replied.
During a 2017 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Fallon said that he knew lots of “Deh-mees.”
That prompted Moore to recall a conversation she once had with Demi Lovato about why they pronounce the same name differently.
“Demi and I had a great conversation about this because she’s from Texas, and I’m from New Mexico, so our families say our names the same way, but we individually both pronounce it differently,” Moore explained.
“It works better with our last names,” she added. “Like, ‘Deh-mee Lovato’ sounds really good. And ‘Duh-mee’ Moore sounds really good.”
