Trigger warning: This article discusses sexual assault.
Florence Pugh is currently on a press tour for East of Eden, but the actor has been swept into a different spotlight after speaking out about the “Cornell 7″— the seven male students accused of sexually assaulting a female classmate at Cornell University in October 2024.
During an appearance on The View on Wednesday, co-host Sara Haines asked Pugh about her recent Instagram post concerning the case, which has since been reopened at Cornell, as well as the subsequent restrictions placed on the posts.
“I’m lucky enough to do what I do and I have a platform and I wanted to talk about it,” Pugh said.
“Rape is something that lives…the fear of it lives in our bodies. And when stories like this come out and it’s really not picked up in the way that you hope that it’s picked up, it makes me feel scared, it makes me feel anxious, it made me feel so much rage.”
Pugh also spoke about Instagram’s decision to censor the posts, describing the experience as yet another instance in which women can find themselves silenced even when speaking about violence committed against them.
“Sadly, Instagram censored me when I said it, which is also just another shock that women are censored even when they go through these things, they can’t talk about it,” she said.
RELATED: We Should All Be Angry About The Cornell Seven Case
Pugh was among the first of what has since become a growing number of celebrities to speak publicly about the seven male students accused of drugging and gang-raping a female classmate, who is identified in court documents by the legal placeholder Jane Doe.
According to the woman’s attorney, Cornell’s initial investigation into the alleged assault resulted in only two of the accused students being expelled. The others received lesser sanctions, which included temporary suspensions and even essay-writing assignments.
Pugh first addressed the case in an Instagram post, describing the alleged assault as a “horrific act” that left her feeling “uneasy and sick and anxious.” She also issued a pointed appeal to men to speak out, writing, “this is really the moment where we need our men to be as horrified and as sickened as us.”
She concluded with a bleak, two-word plea: “Be angry for us. Please.” When Instagram subsequently restricted the original post, Pugh returned to the platform with a second message, writing: “Instagram decided to block my post from getting in front of the right people. Tut tut tut. Oh dear. That doesn’t look great, does it? Here’s another go at it in case you were one of those people that can no longer see my post.”
Florence Pugh calls out Instagram: “Am I being censored for talking about rape?”
by u/LunaLore_ in Fauxmoi
Pugh’s account of the restriction came after users reported encountering warnings or being unable to access the full statement. It was not immediately clear why Instagram had restricted the content, or whether the action stemmed from the topic itself, the platform’s automated moderation systems or reports from users.
Instagram’s sexual exploitation policy permits victims to share their experiences while prohibiting content that “depicts, threatens or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault or sexual exploitation.”
