‘East of Eden’ Star Florence Pugh Speaks Out After Instagram Censored Her Sexual Assault Post: “The Fear Lives in Our Bodies”
Florence Pugh has spent the past few weeks on a high-profile press tour for Netflix’s ‘East of Eden’, which premieres Oct. 1. Her appearances have drawn attention for the fashion and the series itself. This week, though, a different conversation has followed her from stop to stop.
That conversation began with a lawsuit. A former Cornell University student, identified only as Jane Doe, filed a civil complaint this month alleging that 7 members of the Chi Phi fraternity drugged and sexually assaulted her in October 2024. The 101-page complaint names more than a dozen defendants, including the university and the fraternity, and reports say prosecutors have since reopened their investigation. The case is pending, and some of the accused have denied wrongdoing.
Pugh addressed the case on Instagram on Sunday, and said the response to it has been difficult. She wrote that the moment called for men to be as horrified and sickened as women are, and asked them to lead conversations about changing the allowance and complicity around this kind of behavior. She also wrote that colleges and universities repeatedly fail women around the world.
Instagram then placed a content warning over the post, saying it may be upsetting to some people. Pugh posted a second message saying the platform had blocked her post from reaching the right people, and shared the statement again. As of Variety’s reporting, Instagram was only blocking the second post with a content warning.
On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Pugh brought the issue to television when she appeared on ‘The View’ to promote ‘East of Eden’. Co-host Sara Haines asked about her posts at the Hot Topics table, noting that the case is still pending. Pugh said the fear of rape lives in women’s bodies, and that when stories like this are not picked up the way she hopes, it leaves her feeling scared, anxious and full of rage.
Pugh also noted the irony of being restricted online while being able to speak on live television. She said Instagram censored her when she posted, calling it another shock that women are censored when they try to talk about these experiences. TheWrap reported that she was one of the first celebrities to speak out about the case.
The restrictions raise questions about how the platform applies its rules. According to Marie Claire Australia, Instagram’s sexual exploitation policy permits victims to share their experiences while prohibiting content that depicts, threatens or promotes sexual violence, sexual assault or sexual exploitation. It is not clear from reporting how the platform’s systems classified Pugh’s posts, and Instagram’s own response was not part of the coverage reviewed here.
The allegations have drawn heavy attention online. According to the complaint, the woman reported the incident to Cornell police on Nov. 8, 2024, and the university later suspended the Chi Phi chapter and the 7 accused students. The lawsuit claims the students were offered the chance to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays, a claim Cornell has denied.
The university has pointed to steps it has taken, including a task force on campus sexual assault formed in 2025. A report from that task force cited a 2025 school survey in which 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men reported experiencing sexual assault during their time at Cornell. The reopened investigation and the civil suit will now play out in separate processes.
Pugh has also tied the issue to her work. At an ‘East of Eden’ Q&A, she discussed the violence inflicted on women in Zoe Kazan’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel and connected it to the larger question of why women so often carry both the violence itself and the burden of forcing others to confront it. The series, which stars Pugh as Cathy Ames, arrives on Netflix on Oct. 1 with all 7 episodes available at once.
Her comments land as she wraps a press tour that has included premieres in London and New York. After ‘East of Eden’, she is set to appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Dune: Part Three’. Whether the Cornell conversation continues to follow her will depend largely on what happens in the case.
For now, Pugh has made clear where she stands. She says she wants the story to reach more people, and that women should be able to talk about these experiences openly. Others will weigh in as the legal process unfolds.
What do you think about Instagram’s handling of posts discussing sexual assault?
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