Florence Pugh's Cornell Assault Post Labelled 'Sensitive Content' by Instagram: Why Was It Flagged?

Florence Pugh wrote a scathing post about the 'horrific act' at Cornell University where a woman was allegedly gang raped by seven men, none of whom were criminally charged. 'After reading about the young woman who was gang raped at her college by her friend and school peers, I'm feeling uneasy and sick and anxious,' she said on the first slide of her eight-slide post to her 10.6 million followers (as of this writing).

However, Instagram flagged her post as 'Sensitive Content' and restricted it. The post also came with a warning: 'The post contains content that some people may find upsetting.' One has to click on 'See Post' to read her whole message.

Why Did IG Restrict Florence Pugh's Post?

When users click on 'See why,' Instagram explains that it has a review team or technology that identifies content that must be covered. 'This post doesn't go against Community Standards, but may contain images that some people might find upsetting,' the explanation read.

'We cover sensitive or potentially graphic content so people can choose whether to see it,' Instagram also stated. Sometimes, Meta, Instagram's parent company, restricts posts based on some trigger keywords.

When Pugh realised her content had been restricted, she posted another set of slides three hours later. In her caption, she said: 'Instagram decided to block my post from getting in front of the right people. Tut Tut Tut. Oh dear. That doesn't look great, does it?'

In her recent post, she added a screenshot of her Instagram profile page, which shows that her Cornell post had been blocked with a Sensitive Content Shield. She reshared her eight slides where she expressed her disgust about the October 2024 incident where the female university student was allegedly drugged and sexually abused while unconscious at a Cornell fraternity.

Florence Pugh Is Not Letting Up

Aside from the restriction, Pugh learned that some people cannot swipe through her original post. But that did not stop her from continuing to share Cornell-related stories on her account, including the faces of the alleged perpetrators, now being referred to as the Cornell 7.

'Was the damage of this poor woman's body thought about over and over before?' Pugh asked in her post. Cornell handled the incident internally, barring the fraternity from campus but not disclosing the names of those allegedly involved. The Tompkins County District Attorney found there was insufficient evidence to support criminal charges.

The incident was made public in November 2024 after the victim, Jane Doe, reported it to Cornell University Police. The details of the case have now come under renewed scrutiny following her civil suit against the university and the seven fraternity members.

According to the suit, two of the alleged abusers were expelled but the others only had to write an essay as punishment. This angered the public, prompting social media outrage. Pugh was among the high-profile celebrities who publicly commented on the incident.

The Oscar-nominated actress said she was heartbroken. 'All it takes is to write a quick "I'm so sorry I raped a girl while she was drugged with my friends, we thought it would be fine?" essay and you're good to go! This is unacceptable,' said Pugh.

'They should not be allowed to walk freely like the rest of us who treasure and care for souls,' she added.