Florence Pugh says she doesn't let online body-shamers stop her from loving her shape.
During a new interview with fellow actor Jodie Turner-Smith published in Elle UK, the "Oppenheimer" star said she embraces her body, even if critics have slammed her for baring it.
"I speak the way I do about my body because 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," said Pugh.
The English actor, who was blasted in July 2022 for wearing a pink Valentino gown with a sheer bodice to the designer's Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2022/2023 show, said online bullies are "scared" of the comfort she experiences in her own skin.
"I think the scariest thing for me are the instances where people have been upset that I’ve shown ‘too much’ of myself. When everything went down with the Valentino pink dress a year ago, my nipples were on display through a piece of fabric, and it really wound people up," she said. "It’s the freedom that people are scared of; the fact I’m comfortable and happy."
Pugh added that she’s not alone — many women are now rejecting such scrutiny of their bodies.
“Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time. I think we’re in this swing now where lots of people are saying, ‘I don’t give a s---,” she said.
“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," she added. "We need to keep reminding everybody that there is more than one reason for women’s bodies (to exist).”
On July 9, 2022, a day after the Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2022/2023 show, Pugh proudly posted images of herself modeling the bosom-baring Valentino gown on her Instagram.
“Technically they’re covered?” she wrote in her cheeky caption.
The following day, she shared more photos of the gown to address the nasty backlash.
“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,” she wrote. “I was excited to wear it, not a wink of me was nervous. I wasn’t before, during or even now after.”
She went on to call out the critics, particularly men, who slammed her for wearing it.
“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,” she wrote in the caption.
The “Black Widow” star added that she had learned to love her body long ago — despite the negative feedback she’s received throughout her life.
“Thankfully, I’ve come to terms with the intricacies of my body that make me, me. I’m happy with all of the ‘flaws’ that I couldn’t bear to look at when I was 14,” she continued in the caption.
“So many of you wanted to aggressively let me know how disappointed you were by my ‘tiny t---’, or how I should be embarrassed by being so ‘flat chested’. I’ve lived in my body for a long time. I’m fully aware of my breast size and am not scared of it,” she wrote.
She added, “It makes me wonder what happened to you to be so content on being so loudly upset by the size of my boobs and body..?”
Pugh concluded her post by saying how “grateful” she was to grow up in a household filled with “strong, powerful, curvy women.”
“We were raised to find power in the creases of our body. To be loud about being comfortable,” she wrote.
She also said she has long made it her “mission” to reject Hollywood’s typical beauty standards.
“It has always been my mission in this industry to say ‘f--- it and f--- that’ whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what’s hot or sexually attractive. I wore that dress because I know,” she wrote. “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,” she added. “Life will get a whole lot easier, I promise.”