Florence Pugh has accused Instagram of suppressing her post about an alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
The 30-year-old actress shared a lengthy statement to Instagram on Sunday supporting a former student, identified as 20-year-old Jane Doe, who accused seven men of drugging and raping her at a Chi Phi fraternity party in October 2024. Pugh, who has been vocal about women’s rights, described the incident as a “horrific act” and questioned whether the attack had been premeditated.
“A drugged gang rape takes action and conversations,” she wrote on Instagram. “It immediately makes me wonder- had it been in the works for a while? Was the damage of this poor woman’s body thought about over and over before? Every single person who knew or heard about this happening, should be looked at with serious concern. They are as evil as those planning it.”
Hours after posting, fans informed Pugh that the content appeared restricted or hidden from some viewers. She fired back at the platform directly. “Instagram decided to block my post from getting in front of the right people,” she alleged. “Tut tut tut. Oh dear. That doesn’t look great does it? Here’s another go at it in case you were one of those people that can no longer see my post.”
Pugh’s frustration extended beyond the platform to what she described as systemic failures in how institutions handle sexual violence. “Colleges/schools/universities repeatedly fail women around the world,” she continued on Instagram. “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.”
The “Little Women” star made clear her emotional state had shifted from exhaustion to fury. “I’m no longer tired” by the issue, she wrote, but “enraged.” She also directed pointed criticism at bystanders who failed to intervene during the alleged assault. “To know that a torture as violent as rape is about to happen ‘upstairs’ and not do ANYTHING ABOUT IT, is sick, cowardly and cold.”
Pugh praised students actively protesting on campus. “I salute all those at the college that are fighting for that girl, exposing those boys and making life unbearably impossible to find joy during their terms,” she wrote. “They should not be allowed to walk freely like the rest of us who treasure and care for souls.”
Cornell’s internal investigation concluded with two of the accused students expelled and the remaining five facing lesser sanctions including temporary suspensions, workshops and essay assignments, according to Jane Doe’s attorney. None of the seven men were arrested through the criminal justice system at that time.
Kyle Kimball, Vice President for University Relations at Cornell, pushed back against characterizations of lenient punishment. “Cornell University supports the decision of the Tompkins County District Attorney (DA) to provide an opportunity for the victim’s story in the 2024 Chi Phi fraternity sexual assault case to be heard by a criminal grand jury,” he said in a statement. Kimball noted the university conducted a months-long Title IX investigation with temporary suspensions and other restrictive measures, followed by a multi-day hearing before trained faculty and staff. “None of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” he added.
The university also emphasized that the Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus. “Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” Kimball continued. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
The Tompkins County District Attorney has since reopened the criminal probe into the seven accused men. The DA’s decision to present the case to a grand jury offers a potential path to charges that the initial 2024 investigation did not produce.
Pugh’s intervention has amplified national attention on the case, with her Instagram following of millions ensuring the story reached audiences far beyond Ithaca, New York. Her allegation of platform suppression has added a secondary controversy about whether social media companies adequately allow discussion of sexual violence.
The actress began her statement by acknowledging the personal toll of engaging with such material. “I’m processing quietly and watching everything and everyone and every man,” she wrote. “I know this has happened before, and I hate the idea of it happening again.”