“Black Widow” actress Florence Pugh has a message for anyone who recently took issue with her wearing a revealing dress with no bra: “grow up.”
The 26-year-old British star caused a stir by wearing a sheer, hot pink Valentino gown at the fashion house’s haute couture show Friday in Rome. She notably chose not to wear undergarments, which made her breasts visible.
Pugh wrote a lengthy social media post defending her decision to wear the dress. It included the hashtag, “#f***ingfreethef***ingnipple.”
“Listen, I knew when I wore that incredible Valentino dress that there was no way there wouldn’t be a commentary on it,’” she shared on Instagram. “‘Whether it be negative or positive, we all knew what we were doing. I was excited to wear it, not a wink of me was nervous. I wasn’t before, during or even now after.”
Pugh equated going topless with having body confidence.
“What’s been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see,’” she continued. “It isn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last time a woman will hear what’s wrong with her body by a crowd of strangers, what’s worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be. Thankfully, I’ve come to terms with the intricacies of my body that make me, me. I’m happy with all of the ‘flaws’ that I couldn’t bear to look at when I was 14.”
The actress said, “I’ve lived in my body for a long time. I’m fully aware of my breast size and am not scared of it. What’s more concerning is…. Why are you so scared of breasts? Small? Large? Left? Right? Only one? Maybe none? What. Is. So. Terrifying.”
The “Don’t Worry Darling” star said she grew up in a family of “very strong, powerful, curvy women” who discovered “power in the creases of our body.”
She went on to insist that going topless was her right as a woman.
“It has always been my mission in this industry to say ‘f*** it and f*** that’ whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what’s hot or sexually attractive,” she continued. “I wore that dress because I know.”
Pugh concluded: “If being loudly abusive towards women publicly in 2022 is so easy for you, then the answer is that it is you who doesn’t know. Grow up. Respect people. Respect bodies. Respect all women. Respect humans. Life will get a whole lot easier, I promise. And all because of two cute little nipples….”