Florence Pugh is done pretending the red carpet is part of her job description.
In a candid new interview with Who What Wear, the Thunderbolts star called out the unrealistic beauty standards placed on actresses, especially when it comes to high-profile events like movie premieres and award shows. According to Pugh, it’s “mental” that actresses are expected to double as supermodels just to promote the work they’re actually paid to do, acting.
“It’s so s***,” Pugh said bluntly. “It’s not the same thing. It’s not the same thing at all. Red carpets are even an expectancy of someone that is not… That’s not even their job.”
She didn’t hold back.
“They don’t model,” she continued. “They are good at being on a camera that is this close with that face, and they know how to show how raw their soul is on the flick of a switch. That’s their talent. Their talent isn’t anything beyond that. I mean, it might be, but that’s what they’re getting paid to do.”
It’s a point many actresses have tried to make, but Pugh laid it out with rare clarity. Being able to cry on cue, deliver emotional monologues, or carry a movie isn’t the same as owning a runway, and yet, the public and media constantly compare actresses to professional models.
The 29-year-old actress, known for Don’t Worry Darling, Midsommar, and now Marvel’s Thunderbolts, shared how this pressure affected her in early photoshoots.
“You feel so self-conscious in the clothes,” she said. “You feel like you’re not doing them justice. You’re not doing what a model is going to be able to do.”
Pugh, who stands at 5’4″, has often faced criticism for not conforming to traditional red carpet beauty standards. But instead of shrinking under the spotlight, she’s learned to push back. She says confidence has come with experience, and a willingness to speak up when something doesn’t feel right.
“Once you do shoot after shoot, you get better,” she said. “You see the pictures and you’re like, ‘Okay, that looks great.’ Then you’re able to argue when a certain piece of clothing isn’t working.”
Her message to the haters? She keeps it simple.
“If someone’s saying something nasty about the dress I was wearing, or if I was a bit too heavy for the dress, or too this or too that or whatever sh*t someone wanted to say to me, I have to be like: ‘Babe, this is not even your job.’”
It’s a refreshing and necessary reminder that actors are not mannequins, and their worth shouldn’t be judged by how they look under flashing lights.
As Pugh gears up for the post-release aftermath of Thunderbolts, she’s clearly not afraid to challenge the Hollywood machine, and that might be her most powerful role yet.
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