Florence Pugh Explains Why She Wasn’t 'Scared' to Support Palestine
Florence Pugh has reflected on her decision to speak publicly in support of Palestine, saying she was never “scared” of voicing her position despite the reaction that followed.
Florence Pugh discusses supporting Palestine, losing social media followers and why she was never “scared” to speak out.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Netflix
The Oscar-nominated actress discussed the subject in a Vanity Fair cover story, where she estimated that she lost hundreds of thousands of social media followers after expressing her opinion on Palestine.
Pugh previously attended the Together for Palestine event last September. Speaking onstage, she said, “Silence in the face of such suffering is not neutrality, it is complicity, and empathy should not be this hard and it should have never been this hard.”
Looking back on the response to the situation, Pugh told Vanity Fair, “I don’t know why it took so long for people to start talking and for people to actually feel sympathy.”
The East of Eden star made clear that she did not feel afraid to speak publicly about her support.
“But no, I was never scared of it,” Pugh said.
She also explained how the silence from many others affected her perspective. “Weirdly, because so many people actively weren’t, that made me even more confused — and kind of probably even more in the right to talk about it.”
Pugh’s team, the outlet noted, never “advised her to keep quiet on the subject.” The actress also expressed gratitude toward those who helped her attend the Together for Palestine event because it conflicted with the production schedule for Avengers: Doomsday.
For Pugh, the suffering remains difficult to reconcile with the ordinary progression of everyday life. “It’s still happening, though,” she said. “Babies are still dying. Mothers are still in pain.”
“It’s really horrible to be watching such pain when so much of our lives just seem to be moving forward,” she continued.
The actress specifically pointed to social media as another source of difficulty, explaining, “I think that’s what I’ve found so difficult about social media as well: How can I say I’m having a really good time when literally one scroll up, I’m looking at a baby that’s motherless and fatherless?”
Alongside the discussion, Pugh is preparing for several upcoming projects. Netflix’s East of Eden adaptation releases on Oct. 1, while Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled for Dec. 18. Dune: Part Three, another project featuring Pugh, also hits theaters on Dec. 18.
