Florence Pugh says she was never afraid to speak publicly in support of Palestine, even as her advocacy may have cost her hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
The Oscar nominee, who has repeatedly shared links directing followers to humanitarian aid for Palestinians, addressed both the reaction to her posts and what she viewed as a delayed response from others in Hollywood.
“I don’t know why it took so long for people to start talking and for people to actually feel sympathy,” Pugh said in a new interview. “But no, I was never scared of it.”
She added that the number of people who were not publicly addressing the subject only strengthened her conviction that she should continue.
“And I think weirdly, because so many people actively weren’t [speaking up], that made me even more confused — and kind of probably even more in the right to talk about it,” she said.
Pugh reflects on the cost of speaking out
Pugh believes she has likely lost hundreds of thousands of followers across social media during the last few years because of her outspoken position. Despite that apparent audience decline, she said nobody on her team advised her to remain silent.
Her latest comments also underline the tension she feels while using platforms where updates from her own life can appear alongside images of suffering.
“It’s still happening, though,” Pugh 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: “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?”
Inside her Together for Palestine appearance
Pugh’s advocacy drew further attention last September when she made a surprise appearance at the Together for Palestine fundraising event. Her attendance required help from people around her because the concert conflicted with production on “Avengers: Doomsday,” and she has expressed gratitude to those who enabled her to take part.
Addressing the crowd that evening, Pugh directly rejected the idea that staying quiet amounted to a neutral position.
“Silence in the face of such suffering is not neutrality. It is complicity,” she said.
The event raised more than $2 million for humanitarian organizations. Its concert lineup included Gorillaz, King Krule, Brian Eno, PinkPantheress, Cat Burns, Bastille, James Blake and Sampha, among others.
Pugh closed her remarks at the fundraiser by calling for empathy and continued political pressure.
“Empathy should not be this hard and it should have never been this hard. I’m just going to leave that with you,” she told attendees. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, pressure on the governments and well done for being here.”
Her new interview makes clear that the response on social media has not changed her position. While she acknowledged the likely loss of a substantial number of followers, Pugh framed the continued suffering of Palestinians — and the reluctance of others to address it — as reasons to keep speaking rather than step back.