Florence Pugh says Instagram restricted her post about the Cornell case and calls on men to break their silence.
Florence Pugh has used her social media platforms to amplify one of the cases currently causing widespread outrage in the United States. The actress spoke out about a lawsuit filed by a former Cornell University student, who alleges that seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her over several hours in October 2024.
The actress said she felt “enraged” after learning the details of the case and devoted much of her message to calling on men to take an active role in conversations about sexual violence. Pugh questioned why so many male voices remain silent in the face of allegations of this seriousness and criticised those who may have known what was allegedly happening that night without intervening.
According to the civil lawsuit, filed under the pseudonym Jane Doe, the woman was 20 years old when she went to the Chi Phi house. The filing alleges that she was pressured into consuming substances and alcohol before being sexually assaulted over several hours. The events described form part of a lawsuit and do not constitute a court ruling against the seven students named. Representatives for some of them have denied the allegations.
Florence Pugh questions Cornell’s response
The actress also criticised the university’s disciplinary response as described in the lawsuit. Cornell, however, has rejected the suggestion that its measures were merely symbolic and maintains that its investigation under the Title IX process resulted in expulsions and suspensions, as well as the closure of the fraternity involved in 2024. The university also denies that writing essays was the only consequence imposed on any of those involved.
The case has attracted even greater attention after the Tompkins County District Attorney’s Office decided to reopen the criminal investigation. District Attorney Matthew Van Houten has announced that the evidence will be presented to a grand jury to determine whether there are grounds to bring charges.
Pugh placed particular emphasis on the responsibility of institutions to protect victims and called for a change in attitude that does not prioritise the future or reputation of those accused over those reporting an assault.
Am I being censored for talking about rape?
The controversy then took another turn. Pugh explained through Instagram Stories that she and some of her followers were having difficulty accessing the original post. According to the actress, some users could only see the initial sensitive-content warning, while others were unable to swipe through the different images in the carousel.
The actress publicly questioned whether she was being “censored for talking about rape” and reposted the content after becoming concerned that its reach was being restricted. For now, there is no independent confirmation that Instagram deliberately censored the post, meaning this remains an allegation made by Pugh based on the issues she encountered on the platform. The Independent contacted Meta for an explanation.
Her intervention ends with a request that runs throughout her entire message: that men should not remain on the sidelines when cases like this emerge. For Pugh, talking about equality also means demanding that men become part of the response to sexual violence and speak out when such allegations come to light.
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