Florence Pugh has weighed in on why her relationship with fellow actor Zach Braff appears to upset so many people.
The relationship between the pair has been plagued by controversy ever since it became know that they were dating around three years ago.
The backlash, stemming from the fact that Braff is 21 years older than Pugh, has been so severe at points that the couple has been forced to turn off comments on their Instagram posts that feature each other.
In a new interview with The Sunday Times to celebrate the release of Black Widow, Pugh opened up about why fans seem hellbent on sharing their opinion on the couple.
“I think it bugs people that it’s not who they expected,” she said.
“But it’s my life and I’m not doing anything to please people or to make it a better headline or story. I want to also be a person!”
The interview made mention of an incident last year that saw folks get antsy when Pugh posted about Braff’s 46th birthday, which led her to post a video about bullying.
Love Film & TV?
Get the latest Film & TV news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“I am 24 years old, I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love,” she said in the video.
“I would never in my life ever, ever tell anyone who they can and cannot love. It is not your place. And really, it has nothing to do with you. So if those rules are something that you do not like, then please unfollow me because the abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you’re throwing at me.”
View this post on Instagram
In her interview with The Sunday Times, she explained that it’s “so weird to me to go on to someone’s page and shit on it.”
“That’s so not my nature—to go and bully for the sake of bullying. It’s such an odd thing that we’ve become OK with in the past ten years of social media,” she said.
“The thing is, people want Instagram to be a nicer place, they want to see nice things. They want to be inspired and they want to be happy. I don’t mind you not liking me, that’s absolutely fine. In which case don’t follow me,” she concluded.
For more on this topic, follow the Film & TV Observer.
Check out a birthday tribute to Zach Braff posted by Florence Pugh:
View this post on Instagram
