Florence Pugh has never been one to take body shaming lightly or try the “ignore it and it’ll go away” tactic. The We Live in Time actress has an unfortunate amount of experience when it comes to Internet trolls making unsolicited comments on her body, and she’s always stood up for herself in response. In a new interview with The Times, Pugh is revealing some of the reasons why — and they have to do with the cutthroat nature of Hollywood and how it seeks to tear women down.
“I remember watching this industry and feeling that I wasn’t represented,” Pugh told the publication. “I remember godawful headlines about how Keira Knightley isn’t thin any more, or watching women getting torn apart despite being talented and beautiful… I didn’t care to abide by those rules. I’ve loved challenging ideas I don’t like.”
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Turns out, it’s just a part of Pugh’s nature. “I always prodded at things,” she explained. “There are fine lines women have to stay within, otherwise they are called a diva, demanding, problematic. And I don’t want to fit into stereotypes made by others. It is really exhausting for a young woman to just be in this industry, and actually other industries. But I’ve always been encouraged to have a voice.”
Pugh famously took on body shamers in an eloquent Instagram post in 2022. The Dune: Part Two actress was clapping back at the men who criticized her body and the sheer Valentino dress she wore, through which her nipples were visible. “I knew when I wore that incredible Valentino dress that there was no way there wouldn’t be a commentary on it,” Pugh wrote. “What’s been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see.”
Pugh added that she “grew up in a household with very strong, powerful, curvy women” and was “raised to find power in the creases of [my] body. To be loud about being comfortable. It has always been my mission in this industry to say ‘fuck it and fuck that’ whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what’s hot or sexually attractive.” (True to form, Pugh has rocked similar free-the-nipple looks since.)
Along the same lines, Pugh told The Times, she wants to “challenge how women were perceived, how we are supposed to look… I just wanted to be there, to make space for a version of a person that isn’t all the things they used to have to be.”
And Pugh holds her head high when it comes to that goal. “I’m proud I’ve stuck by myself and look the way I look,” she stated. “I’m really interested in people who are still angry with me for not losing more weight, or who just hate my nose ring. I am not going to be able to just change the way that things are — but I can certainly help young women coming into this industry by making conversations happen where they weren’t before.”
Many women in Hollywood simply aren’t putting up with the BS around body expectations anymore, and clearly Pugh is one of the ones leading the charge. “I’m not trying to hide the cellulite on my thigh or the squidge in between my arm and my boob: I would much rather lay it all out,” she told Elle UK last year. “Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time,” she said. “I think we’re in this swing now where lots of people are saying, ‘I don’t give a s***.’ … We need to keep reminding everybody that there is more than one reason for women’s bodies [to exist].” Louder for the people in the back, Flo.
Before you go, check out these celebrities taking on stigma around their health issues:
