There is a growing public outcry over Cornell’s handling of sexual assault allegations, and actor Florence Pugh is one of the first to speak out on the matter. The actor, who is busy promoting his Netflix show East of Eden, supported a Cornell University alumnus who filed the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges he was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members in 2024. Pugh also claimed that Instagram blocked her original post on the matter.
what florence pugh said
The actor shared that Instagram has blocked his original post on the matter. She spoke further about it during an appearance on The View, and said she’s glad she has the platform to share her message, despite the fact that Instagram censors her posts.
During the chat, Florence said, “I’m a woman and it affects all women. Women I know, women I don’t know. Rape is something that we fear inside our bodies. When stories like this come out… and it’s not really picked up on in the way you expect it to be picked up on. It scares me, worries me, and makes me very angry.”
“I’m lucky enough to do what I do and have a platform. I wanted to talk about it and I wanted to share how it made me feel. I can come on here and talk about it in real life. Sadly, Instagram censored me when I said it. It’s also another shock that when women go through these things they’re still censored and they can’t talk about it. It’s an ongoing conversation, that’s always happening.” Unless we become tough on those who do this to women.”
Cornell University ‘rape’ case update
The former student, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, filed the lawsuit in New York Supreme Court on September 16, alleging that Winston Lee, Scott Kretzschmar, Scott Norris, Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Gilio Lopes and Diego Sarabia raped her, the report said. According to the lawsuit, the woman was visiting a friend at Cornell’s Chi Phi house when two members of the fraternity allegedly drugged her and forced her to snort ketamine. “Multiple men began engaging in sexual activity (including both oral and vaginal intercourse) with Plaintiff, all without her consent,” the lawsuit said.
His lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, alleged that only two of the seven men named in the case were expelled, while other members of the fraternity faced lesser disciplinary measures, including writing essays. Giuffra also said that none of the alleged attackers had been arrested.
Cornell said it investigated the allegations and issued a ruling in accordance with its policies. In a September 21 statement, the university said it “condemns sexual violence” and that sexual violence is “fundamentally inconsistent” with its principles.
The university said its Office of Civil Rights and Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards handled the case, while the Xi chapter of Chi Phi was barred from campus.
The university said, “Federal privacy laws prevent Cornell from disclosing specific information regarding individual students and therefore we are unable to make a public statement on any further disciplinary response.”