Hollywood star defends 21-year age gap relationship

Florence Pugh has taken aim at trolls who hit out at her relationship with Zach Braff, who is 21 years her senior.

The 24-year-old Little Women star uploaded a three minute video to her Instagram account, calling out people who commented ‘nasty’ thoughts on her recent birthday message to 45-year-old Scrubs star Zach.

Florence Pugh attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.
Florence Pugh has defended her 21-year age gap relationship with Zach Braff. Photo: Getty Images
Zach Braff attending the Vanity Fair Oscar Party held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
Zach Braff is 45-years-old and Florence os 24. Photo: Getty Images

Florence was so irked by the messages the photo received that she was forced to turn off the ability for her fans to comment on the birthday post as she didn’t want her Instagram to become ‘toxic’.

"It is the first time in my entire Instagram life that I've had to turn off the comments on my page,” she said in the video.

"I've never been an Instagram page that encourages that. I've never been an Instagram page that likes that toxic vibe."

"I will not allow that behaviour on my page. I'm not about that. It makes me upset.”

The Black Widow actress went on to slam people for being so ‘hateful’ during the global pandemic happening at the moment and reiterated that fact that she can make her own decisions about who she wants to date.

"I am 24 years old. I have been working since I was 17. I have been earning money since I was 17. I became an adult when I was 18. I am 24 years old,” she said.

"I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love and I would never in my life tell anyone who they can and cannot love.

"It is not your place."

Florence defended Jach, saying: "The abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you are throwing at me, and I don't want those followers.

"I do not want to have to be protecting my comments every time I post a picture of him.

"I really hope that I can continue this relationship with a lot of you."

Florence and Zach worked together on Zach's short film In the Time It Takes to Get There in April 2019.

However, fans believe their relationship began in 2018, after Zach liked a photo Florence updated to Instagram which showed her lying on the ground.

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