Trigger Warning: This article includes discussion of alleged sexual assault, with details.
Florence Pugh has called out Meta after Instagram reportedly restricted her comments about the alleged gang rape at Cornell University. The Oscar-nominated actress made her stance clear, saying, “No one f**king censors me.”
Florence Pugh condemns Instagram’s restriction of her Cornell assault allegations post
In a new interview with Elle, Pugh warned, “Don’t even try. That’s just going to add fuel to the fire.” She said, “My dad has always hated bullies, and he’s always told me that if you ever see anything, you have to do the right thing. Otherwise, you are just the same as them.”
“And I think that’s where that instinct of ‘I must speak out on this injustice’ comes from. It’s always important to stand up for people who don’t have the voice that I have. I have the ability, and I have to use it. I don’t know who I would be if I didn’t,” she expressed.
Pugh also addressed her decision to speak out during an appearance on The View on September 30. She said she felt it was important to stand up for “all women.” “Rape is something that lives. The fear of it lives in our bodies,” she added.
The actress first addressed the situation in an Instagram post in September. She said she felt “enraged” by what had happened. She later shared another post that appeared to show a screenshot of her Instagram grid. The image featured her earlier post with a platform advisory. The message read, “This post contains content that some people may find upsetting.” But the warning has since been removed.
The remarks came after a former Cornell student filed a lawsuit against the university and seven fraternity members on September 16. She alleged that several men at the Chi Phi fraternity house forced her to take drugs before they allegedly raped her on October 19, 2024. She was 20 years old at the time. The defendants are Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
