Florence Pugh Completely Goes Off On Those Will Poulter Romance Rumors
Can't two good-looking, young actors just have some platonic fun in the sun anymore? Florence Pugh and her "Midsommar" costar Will Poulter were photographed lounging on the Spanish Island of Ibiza together in late May, per the Daily Mail. Pictured frolicking on the beach and splashing in ocean waters with several other friends, Pugh and Poulter were reportedly there to celebrate the opening of Ibiza's new Standard Hotel as well as a pal's birthday.
With Pugh's longtime boyfriend Zach Braff absent, online speculation that she and Poulter were now an item began running amok. "If florence pugh dumps her [bf] for will poulter, everyone will have a hot girl summer. it's like the groundhog and 6 more weeks of winter," tweeted one hopeful fan. Another Twitter user voiced an even more blunt (but seemingly popular) take, writing, "do I think florence pugh and will poulter are dating? no. would I support of them if they were? yes bc anything is better than that expired man." Ouch.
It seems the overwhelming anti-Braff sentiment not only caught Pugh's ear, but irked her nerves as well. The "Black Widow" star took to social media to return fans' bluntness in kind.
Florence Pugh and Will Poulter are just sexy friends
Florence Pugh is over two things: paparazzi and the peanut gallery's commentary on her love life. Pugh addressed those beachside photos with Will Poulter in a May 24 Instagram Story, via Page Six, writing, "We went to the beach with our friends, who are always about a half a metre away from us in every picture, but have been cleverly cut out/ framed out so that it looks otherwise."
Pugh continued in her lengthy post, "I understand that the nature of this job is that you sometimes get your privacy completely bulldozed by paparazzi, but to fabricate this stuff actually does more damage than good. Thanks for saying we look sexy..doesn't mean we're doing the sexy." The "Little Women" star also alluded to the backhanded slights toward beau Zach Braff in fan comments about her Ibiza photos. "Regardless of your opinion on who I should or shouldn't be with, at the end of the day if you're complimenting someone by trolling another person .. you're just bullying," she opined.
This isn't the first time Pugh has stood up for Braff amongst her fanbase online. In April 2020, she defended Braff, her senior by 21 years, against ageist comments about their relationship, telling fans in an Instagram video, "I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love." She added, "The abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you're throwing at me."