“WHY are you so scared of breasts?”
This is the question posed to “vulgar men” by actor Florence Pugh after she was body-shamed for wearing a nipple-baring dress at a fashion event.
The Little Women star looked stunning in the sheer pink Valentino gown.
Yet after posting the picture on her Instagram on Friday, she was bombarded by trolls telling her “they don’t look good” and branding her “flat-chested”.
Now fellow A-listers are flocking to support her after she responded with a powerful comeback, saying it was “interesting to watch and witness just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see”.
The 26-year-old Brit went on: “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,” before adding, “What’s worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be”.
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The 26-year-old wrote: “So many of you wanted to aggressively let me know how disappointed you were by my ‘tiny t*ts’, or how I should be embarrassed by being so ‘flat chested’.
“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.”
Born in Oxford, she recalled her upbringing, saying she was “raised to find power in the creases of our body,” before telling trolls to “grow up.
“Respect people. Respect bodies. Respect all women. Respect humans”.
The bold post, which has more than two million likes, unleashed a new chapter in the #freethenipple movement, with actors including Jessica Chastain, Gemma Chan and Billie Piper applauding Florence.
Oscar winner Jessica shared the post with the caption: “Why is it so threatening for some men to realise that women can love our bodies without your permission? We don’t belong to you.”
West Side Story star Ariana DeBose replied: “RESPECT. Period.” And Billie Piper added: “Never looked better. You are simply stunning. Beautiful, beautiful women.”
And it wasn’t just female celebs defending the star. Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page launched an impassioned plea to stamp out “misogyny” in men.
He shared Florence’s post on his Instagram story and wrote: “Take a look at yourself fellas.
“Then take a look at your mates and step up when it’s time to step up. When the boys are out of line, have a word.
“The weird thing about misogyny is men actually listen to other men.
“So do your bit, cos the next few years are gonna be a really good time to listen, and take some responsibility, for everyone’s sake.”
Florence’s brave fightback lays bare the double standards in both showbusiness and social media, which is inundated with keyboard warriors itching to insult women.
While there has been no shortage of female nude scenes on the big screen, Hollywood has always frowned upon visible nipples on the red carpet.
The Oscars has a dress code which requires women to wear floor-length formal dresses, but Gwyneth Paltrow broke its unspoken rule in 2002 when she went braless under a sheer, goth-style dress.
She later said of the backlash: “Everybody really hated this (dress) . . . but I think it’s kind of dope.
“I had a weird hangover about it for a while because people were really critical. I think it sort of shocked people. But I like it.”
While Florence’s statement has put the #freethenipple movement back into the spotlight, the phrase has been used to call out social media hypocrisy for a decade.
Lina Esco’s 2014 movie Free The Nipple, which followed a fictional group of young women hoping to decriminalise female nudity in the US, saw the cast stage real-life protests in New York during production.
The pink balaclava-clad co-stars ran topless through Times Square, swerving police officers and fly-posting the film’s posters.
Singer Miley Cyrus was an early supporter of the movement against censorship of women’s bodies.
She posted a stylised black and white topless photo alongside the #FreeTheNipple tag in 2014, but it was immediately removed by Instagram.
Then Chelsea Handler, Rumer Willis — the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore — and Rihanna also shared topless pictures with the tag, which led 2014 to be dubbed “the year of the nipple”.
Rumer’s sister, Scout, took things up a notch when she went shopping topless in New York and posted it to social media with the caption: “Legal in New York, but not on Instagram.”
And Lena Dunham and Naomi Campbell have both backed the campaign in the past, sharing bare-chested pictures which were then removed.
Rihanna, known for pushing the boundaries of the fashion, took to the red carpet in a see-through Adam Selman sparkle gown in 2014 that drew gasps.
Yet when Harry Styles wore a sheer blouse baring his nipples to the Met Gala in 2019, no one took any notice.
The tide seemed to be turning last October after Instagram was forced to apologise to director Pedro Almodovar for censoring the poster for his movie Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers), which features a lactating nipple cropped to look like a crying eye.
And recently more stars have been willing to bare their boobs on the red carpet, with Kendall Jenner flashing hers at Cannes Film Festival in 2018 and Cara Delevingne causing a sensation at this year’s Met Gala when she whipped off her tailored red jacket to reveal her breasts, sprayed with gold body paint, and declared: “The nipple has to be free.”
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With A-listers lining up to back Florence, nipples could be the theme of red carpet couture for some time to come.
After all, we all have them and, just as Florence asked, “What. Is. So. Terrifying?”
