On Tuesday, as Vanity Fair and Netflix toasted Pugh and the cast of East of Eden, the Oscar nominee took a break from the festivities to open up about her response to the Cornell case as well as the Instagrams she posted. “I don’t find it hard to talk about what doesn’t sit correctly in my body,” she said.
In Zoe Kazan’s Netflix adaptation of East of Eden, Pugh’s Cathy Ames is the victim of physical and sexual violence as well as child sexual assault. “I have been talking about the subject of rape for the last few weeks, so of course that’s how it has folded its way in,” the actor says. “I do want to separate this from the project that obviously we are promoting—they are two completely different things.”
Still, said Pugh, in the real world, women do live with a constant fear of sexual violence. “It sits in us daily, this percentage of fear that is living in our body just in case something happens. When a story like this pops up regarding men that have got off and are going into professions that are a part of our society, it is no surprise that it makes us feel unbelievably worried, unbelievably anxious. It makes us feel unsafe.” Though Pugh felt temporarily silenced by Instagram, “This week hasn’t been difficult for me,” she added. “I’m grateful that it has been picked up [by other outlets]. I’m grateful that people have responded to it.”
While Pugh was one of the first celebrities to speak out on the alleged Cornell assault, she’s since been joined by other celebrities including Harold Perrineau, Mariska Hargitay, and Hudson Williams. All have demanded justice for Jane Doe and accountability and further consequences for the seven alleged rapists. For now, Pugh thinks it’s time to take the conversation a step further, and hopes it will be galvanized by men.