Florence Pugh Just Shut Down Body-Shamers Who Came After Her for Wearing a Sheer Dress

Florence Pugh is not here for sexist commentary from social media body-shamers. After showing off a sheer pink Valentino dress she recently wore on Instagram, Pugh reminded followers in a second post why it's not cool to comment on people's bodies — and why she's not going to let other people's opinions of her body get to her. (ICYMI, Selena Gomez also shut down body-shamers recently on TikTok.)

After walking the red carpet at Valentino's haute couture show on Friday, July 8, the actress shared photos of her gorgeous hot pink dress paired with a tongue-in-cheek caption about the gown's see-through top. "Technically they're covered?" she joked in the caption of her post, referring to her visible nipples. She also thanked the designers and glam team behind the look, writing, "Thank you again, my beautiful team, for making my pink princess dreams come true."

Though many of the more than 10,000 comments on Pugh's post were from people awed by the ultra-glam look, plenty of body-shamers came out of the woodwork too. Unsurprisingly, many of the meanest comments came from men. Some criticized the 26-year-old for showing too much while others made fun of her chest size.

On Sunday, Pugh shared more photos in her pink gown, addressing the negative commentary directly. "Listen, I knew when I wore that incredible Valentino dress that there was no way there wouldn't be a commentary on it," she wrote. "Whether it be negative or positive, we all knew what we were doing."

The Oscar nominee was excited to wear the dress, she explained, adding, "not a wink of me was nervous. I wasn't before, during, or even now after." Since then, it's been interesting to watch the apparent ease with which commenters can "totally destroy a woman's body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see," wrote Pugh, pointing out that some people even did so despite listing their job titles and work emails in their Instagram bios.

"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," she continued. "What's worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be," she added. "Thankfully, I've come to terms with the intricacies of my body that make me, me."

Pugh has seemingly come a long way in her journey to accept her body as it is. "I'm happy with all of the 'flaws' that I couldn't bear to look at when I was 14," she wrote. "I've lived in my body for a long time. I'm fully aware of my breast size and am not scared of it," she added, questioning why others are "so scared of breasts," no matter what they look like. (

Pugh is grateful to have grown up "in a household with very strong, powerful, curvy women," she said. "We were raised to find power in the creases of our body," added Pugh. "It has always been my mission in this industry to say 'fuck it and fuck that' whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what's hot or sexually attractive," she wrote, ending her message with advice for her haters.

"Grow up. Respect people. Respect bodies. Respect all women. Respect humans. Life will get a whole lot easier, I promise," she wrote. Finally, she flagged that the last photo in her carousel post, in which she covers up her nipples with her fingers, "is for those who feel more comfortable with that inch of darker skin to be covered."

Pugh's fans and famous pals flooded the comments section with praise for her powerful message. "Adore you," wrote Nicola Coughlan. "RESPECT. Period," added Ariana DeBose, while Joey King summed it up, writing, "You put into words what so many feel but can't articulate."

Jessica Chastain also voiced support of Pugh in an Instagram story posted to her account on Monday, reported People. "Why is it so threatening for some men to realize that women can love our bodies without your permission? We don't belong to you," she wrote in text over Pugh's post. (Next up: Here's how you can stop body-shaming in its tracks.)