Florence Pugh pushes back against body shaming: 'It is really exhausting'

The entertainment industry is notorious for harsh dialogue about a woman's body − and Florence Pugh doesn't plan on holding her tongue.

"It is really exhausting for a young woman to just be in this industry," Pugh said in an interview with the Times published Sunday. "But I've always been encouraged to have a voice.”

Pugh, who has long been an outspoken voice against unfair beauty standards, told the U.K. outlet she hopes speaking out will stretch the boundaries of what the industry is comfortable seeing.

"Look, not everybody has legs that go on for days," the "Little Women" actress told the Times. "I remember watching this industry and feeling that I wasn't represented. I remember godawful headlines about how Keira Knightley isn't thin any more, or watching women getting torn apart despite being talented and beautiful."

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Knightly herself has recently commented on how early scrutiny of her body was traumatic. "It's obviously part of my psyche, given how young I was when it happened. I've been made around it," Knightly said, also in an interview with the Times.

Knightly's example demonstrates the pendulum swing of body-shaming. It is not just that actors or particularly actresses are criticized for weight gain – they can also come under fire for appearing "underweight."

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"Wicked" co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo faced similar scrutiny during their press tour for the fall blockbuster, with many accusing the actresses of looking unhealthy.

Grande, who has been in the public eye since becoming a teen star on Nickelodeon's "Victorious," spoke out against the remarks in an interview with content creator Crazy Sally during promotion for the film.

"There is a comfortability that people have commending on that that I think is really dangerous," the "Sweetener" singer said. "I have heard it all. I've heard every version of it − of what's wrong with me and then you fix it and then it's wrong for different reasons."

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Pugh feels similarly, saying "the only thing people want to talk about" are "useless" comments "about how they look," she told the Times. "And so I didn't care to abide by those rules. I've loved challenging ideas I don't like."

Pugh often uses social media to clap back against body-shamers.

After a sheer dress she wore to a 2022 fashion show garnered online outrage, Pugh took to Instagram to defend the outfit and tell people to "grow up."

"We were raised to find power in the creases of our body. To be loud about being comfortable," the actress wrote in a lengthy caption. She called it her "mission in this industry" to push back "whenever anyone expects my body to morph into an opinion of what's hot or sexually attractive."

"I wanted to challenge how women were perceived, how we are supposed to look," Pugh told the Times. "I'm really interested in people who are still angry with me for not losing more weight, or who just hate my nose ring. I am not going to be able to just change the way that things are — but I can certainly help young women coming into this industry by making conversations happen where they weren't before."

Contributing: Edward Segarra

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florence Pugh takes aim at beauty standards: 'I wasn't represented'