Florence Pugh calls on men to speak out after Cornell gang assault case

Florence Pugh is speaking out forcefully against Cornell University following a lawsuit alleging that seven fraternity members sexually assaulted a former student in 2024. 

In an extensive statement posted to Instagram Sunday, Pugh said she felt "uneasy and sick and anxious" after reading about the case, writing, "I'm no longer tired- I'm enraged by schools protecting boys, in fear of their futures being wrecked. What about the life that those girls then have to endure, with the knowledge that his reputation is more precious than her truth?"

The lawsuit, filed September 16 in Manhattan Supreme Court by an anonymous former Cornell student identified as Jane Doe, alleges that in October 2024, while intoxicated, she went to the Chi Phi fraternity house, where she claims two fraternity brothers pressured her into snorting a substance they described as ketamine before she was taken upstairs and sexually assaulted for hours by multiple members. 

According to the complaint, Doe reported the incident to Cornell University Police roughly three weeks later, on November 8, 2024. 

The suit accuses the university of failing to adequately protect her and of imposing inconsistent discipline on those involved, with the plaintiff's attorney, Thomas Giuffra, alleging that two of the seven defendants were expelled while others received lesser sanctions.

Pugh's statement extended beyond the specific case to a broader call for accountability, urging men to take a more active role in confronting sexual violence. 

"Colleges/schools/universities repeatedly fail women around the world. You build men that get taught through time and time again that they can do extreme harm and that they won't be harmed in return," she wrote.

"Those that protect and lightly sentence men that rape and destroy, should be punished and watched closely. Why are you protecting someone that fiercely? There is no equality until you respect our bodies. There is no equality until you stop damaging our souls. There is no equality until you let us live. There is no equality until we can say we feel safe." 

She closed her post with a direct message of support to the plaintiff. 

"To Jane Doe who bravely stood up to the despicable college that chose to do the wrong thing, you are so unbelievably powerful. So strong willed. Thank you for telling the world, we will do better."

Cornell addressed the lawsuit in a statement issued September 21, saying the university "take[s] sexual violence extremely seriously" and confirming that Chi Phi's Xi chapter remains barred from campus.

University vice president for university relations Kyle Kimball added that federal privacy law limits what Cornell can disclose about individual students' disciplinary outcomes, noting that policy violations "could lead to sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion." 

The university said it launched a Presidential Task Force on Campus Sexual Assault following the alleged 2024 incident, and that several recommendations from the task force's March 2026 report have already been implemented.