Florence Pugh Is Drawing Her Own Boundaries, and We’re Here for It
“It has always been my mission in this industry to say ‘f*ck it and f*ck that’ whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what’s hot or sexually attractive.”
Florence Pugh has been putting on a master class this summer on how to deal with invasive scrutiny from the public eye. The 26-year-old actor is one of Hollywood’s current “It girls,” with successful films like “Midsommar,”“Little Women,” and “Black Widow,” as well as the upcoming, highly anticipated psychological thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” in which she stars alongside Harry Styles and the film’s director, Olivia Wilde.
A recent trailer for the film has fans ogling over a sex scene between Styles and Pugh. But in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar published Tuesday, Pugh provided an unabashed dose of reality to readers that she’s not here just to indulge questions about those intimate scenes.
“When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry,” Pugh said. “Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”
Pugh also shared her thoughts on the invasive aspects of being famous, observing that simply because someone finds themselves in the media’s spotlight, “I don’t think that … every aspect of their life should be watched and written about. We haven’t signed up for a reality TV show.”
This attitude also applies to her recent breakup with Zach Braff. The pair’s multi-year relationship was mired in controversy and paparazzi coverage due to their 21-year age gap. Pugh confirmed to Harper’s that their relationship ended quietly earlier this year, saying, “We’ve been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it’s been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on. We just felt something like this would really do us the benefit of not having millions of people telling us how happy they are that we’re not together. So we’ve done that. I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it.”
Pugh’s wide-ranging and refreshing interview comes a month after she generated media buzz, both positive and negative, for attending a Valentino fashion show in Rome while donning a sheer pink dress that exposed her chest. Pugh showcased the look on her Instagram, captioning the post, “Technically they’re covered?”
After criticism over the dress poured in, Pugh responded to the naysayers in a lengthy follow-up post. “Listen, I knew when I wore that incredible Valentino dress that there was no way there wouldn’t be a commentary on it. Whether it be negative or positive, we all knew what we were doing. I was excited to wear it, not a wink of me was nervous. I wasn’t before, during or even now after,” she said.
Pugh went on to say that she’s now happy with all her bodily “flaws” that she “couldn’t bear to look at” as a teenager. “It has always been my mission in this industry to say ‘f*ck it and f*ck that’ whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what’s hot or sexually attractive,” she said.
“I wore that dress because I know,” Pugh continued. “If being loudly abusive towards women publicly in 2022 is so easy for you, then the answer is that it is you who doesn’t know. Grow up. Respect people. Respect bodies. Respect all women. Respect humans. Life will get a whole lot easier, I promise. And all because of two cute little nipples….”
“Don’t Worry Darling” is expected to hit theaters September 23, 2022.