Actress Florence Pugh said she was “enraged” by allegations that seven Cornell University fraternity members sexually assaulted a woman in 2024.
“I’m not tired anymore. I’m enraged at schools that protect boys, lest their futures be destroyed,” Pugh wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “What about the life these girls must then endure, knowing that her reputation is more precious than her truth?
Pugh’s Instagram post references a lawsuit filed Sept. 16 by a former Cornell student, identified as Jane Doe, who alleges that in October 2024, while intoxicated, she went to the Chi Pi fraternity house and was given drugs and more alcohol, taken upstairs and sexually assaulted by several men for several hours. The lawsuit, according to CBS News, alleges that one of the men sent a message during a group chat with other fraternity members and suggested that Doe was available for sex.
According to the complaint, Doe filed a report with the Cornell Police Department three weeks after the alleged sexual assault. Doe’s lawyer told CBS News that after an investigation at the time, only two of the fraternity’s seven members were expelled, while the others received lesser sanctions, such as suspensions or having to take workshops or write essays, but no one was arrested.
Doe dropped out of college, according to the lawsuit, and is now suing Cornell and the seven fraternity members.
In a September 21 statement, Cornell said they “take sexual violence extremely seriously” and that “the Xi chapter of Chi Phi fraternity remains excluded from our campus.”
“Federal privacy law prohibits Cornell from disclosing specific information regarding individual students and therefore we are unable to make a public statement on any further disciplinary response,” Kyle Kimball, vice president for university relations, said in the release. “Violations of university policies could result in sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion. We will respond in detail through the legal process.”
In Pugh’s post, she said she felt “uncomfortable, sick and anxious” after reading the lawsuit. She said men should be as “horrified and sickened” as women, and that men should lead conversations about it.
“Anyone who knew or heard about this should be viewed with serious concern,” Pugh wrote. “They are as evil as those planning this. Knowing that torture as violent as rape is about to happen ‘upstairs’ and doing nothing about it is sick, cowardly and cold.”
In the caption of her post, Pugh also addressed Doe, calling her “incredibly powerful.”
“Most importantly, to Jane Doe who courageously stood up to the despicable university that chose to do the wrong thing, you are incredibly powerful,” Pugh wrote. “Such a strong will. And know that women everywhere are here to support you and help you on your healing journey.”
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