Whether it's the dialogue in her scripts or her unfiltered hot takes, Florence Pugh is always ready to use her voice.
The Oscar-nominated actress and "East of Eden" star opened up about her fierce social advocacy, including her outspoken remarks on the Cornell University rape case, in a new interview for Elle's Women in Hollywood issue.
"I'm a woman who cares about women," Pugh, 30, told the magazine in the Nov. 10 cover story. "I care about women I know, and I care about women I don't know. And if we allow for stories like that to become in any way normal, then we are allowing ourselves to continue toward that destiny of abuse and rape being accepted as a norm."
The high-profile sexual assault lawsuit, which details a female student's allegations
of being gang-raped by members of the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024, sparked national outrage and renewed conversations surrounding the legal complexities of addressing college sexual abuse.
Pugh quickly weighed in on the controversy on social media. In a Sept. 27 Instagram post, the actress wrote that "colleges/schools/universities repeatedly fail women around the world," adding, "You build men that get taught through time and time again that they can do extreme harm and that they won't be harmed in return."
"Rape can never ever be a conversation that we move on from," Pugh told Elle. "It has to be something that we look at face-on, and we demand justice, accountability and for the rapist to see what they have done to someone's life. Because if we don't, we're accepting it. And I don't ever, ever, ever want to live in a world where we move on from it easily."
Pugh said she strives to invoke the same fearless attitude in her work as an actor.
"I'm terrified of every single role that I've played. Like, 'How am I going to do that? I don't know if I can,'" Pugh explained. "And the same can be said of things in life that are intimidating or are scary or require me to be brave. It's like, 'If I stay in this, I'm going to live in this fear. And if I punch through it, then I can overcome it.'"
Florence Pugh reveals how acting helped her feel 'comfortable' with body image
Pugh is the opposite of camera-shy.
The actress, who began her entertainment career at age 18, shared how performing on screen has helped improve her body image over the years.
"What I love about acting is I don't have the typical self-consciousness of just being a woman," Pugh said. "When I'm acting, I get to be comfortable in the body that I'm in. If the camera picks up that I have a stomach roll when I'm sitting down, then I have a stomach roll when I'm sitting down.
"And if the camera picks up that I've got cellulite on my thighs, then yeah, I've got cellulite on my thighs. I just give it over to the art. So, performing is very freeing for me, and it always has been."
In the realm of fashion, Pugh has become known for her daring style, which often consists of sheer looks that have, at times, raised eyebrows for their partial nudity.
"It is so crucial to be OK with how you are and who you are because people are going to attack you regardless," Pugh said. "No matter if you're too small, too big, too wrinkly, too spotty, too loud, too quiet, too opinionated, they're going to find issue with you because that's just the nature of the internet and people and opinions. So, it's really important to find peace with what you want to represent and who you want to be."
Florence Pugh gets candid on learning to 'protect myself' on set
The actress, who's starred in nearly 30 films since her 2014 debut, reflected that she's "getting better and better at ... protecting myself" on set.
"Every time I work on a movie, I get more confident in the way that I can protect myself and the way that I can lead a film set and just not stand for [nonsense] anymore," Pugh said. "I'm not doing it. ... I'm not allowing for people to be rude to the crew. You just get bolder and bigger and more confident with time, and you want to be around and work with the right people."
The same way she stands up for what she believes in off screen, Pugh is determined to defend what's right behind the scenes in Hollywood, too.
"I don't want to deal with messy," Pugh said. "It's just about surrounding yourself with professionals who have the same way of working in mind: Show up on time, don't be rude, don't be a misogynist."
Contributing: Chris Kenning, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florence Pugh doubles down on Cornell rape case criticism – 'I care about women'
