Florence Pugh has shared what she perceives as the “scariest” side of body-shaming, in response to an interview question about the infamously backlash to a photo she shared on Instagram last summer. As you may well remember, the Oppenheimer actor wore a sheer hot pink tulle Valentino gown (a Barbiecore dream!) to the fashion house’s haute couture show in Rome on Friday, 8 July. It was one of her best looks to date, and there have been a lot of candidates. The 26-year-old’s fabulous gown showed the outline of her nipples through the material.
However, when she uploaded the post to her Instagram account while lightheartedly addressing the photo-sharing app’s censorship of uncovered nipples, she was faced with backlash: hundreds of unwelcome comments by men.
Now, in a cover interview for ELLE UK‘s October issue, more than a year on from the initial incident, Florence has reflected on how she’s interpreted the response – and what she found most insidious about it.
“I think the scariest thing for me are the instances where people have been upset that I’ve shown ‘too much’ of myself,” she told fellow actor Jodie Turner-Smith in the transcription of their “in conversation” style Zoom Q&A.
Jacopo Raule
Referring to the furore around the Valentino dress, she added: “my nipples were on display through a piece of fabric, and it really wound people up. It’s the freedom that people are scared of; the fact I’m comfortable and happy. Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time.” More optimistically, however, Florence added that she thinks things are changed: “I think we’re in this swing now where lots of people are saying, ‘I don’t give a shit.’
“Unfortunately, we’ve become so terrified of the human body that we can’t even look at my two little cute nipples behind fabric in a way that isn’t sexual. We need to keep reminding everybody that there is more than one reason for women’s bodies [to exist].”
It’s worth mentioning that Florence also responded to the backlash in real-time – i.e. in summer 2022, when it first happened. In a follow-up post, the British star was quickly forced to address disgusting comments she received from “vulgar men” who thought it was appropriate to discuss her body and how it looked in the dress. Sigh, what authority do men think they have on our bodies to make such remarks?!