Florence Pugh apologises for cultural appropriation, says she 'wasn't being respectful'

As the news of George Floyd's death came, it sent an uproar throughout the US and there was a global outrage against the incident. Many celebrities spoke out on their social media and also joined the peaceful protests. Amid all of that, Little Women star Florence Pugh took to her social media on June 27 to pen down a long note and issue an apology for using ''cultural appropriation'' in the past. 

Florence Pugh apologises for past cultural appropriation

She wrote in her statement, "To see the change I must be part of the change.caption". [sic] Florence Pugh shared a series of notes narrating various incidents from her life that made her realise where she was wrong. She also acknowledged that the last four weeks have been huge in terms of understanding white privilege and learning a 'tidal wave of information' that she was unaware of. 

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Florence Pugh revealed that she first heard the term 'cultural appropriation' when she was 18. One of her friends introduced her to it and began to explain it to her. Pugh then began to see how Black culture was being exploited. She further wrote, "I was defensive and confused, white fragility coming out plain and simple. I didn't want to upset anyone and was perplexed as to how I hadn't heard this term before''. 

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The Oscar-nominated actor also shared how she befriended an Indian lady and was excited to learn a different culture. She revealed that there was not a single summer where she did not henna her body. She talked about it becoming a trend later on and felt embarrassed that no one cared about its origin. She wrote, "And here’s the problem: I actually wasn’t being respectful in how I was using it. I wore this culture on my terms only, to parties, at dinner. I too was disrespecting the beauty of the religion that had been taught to me those years ago". 

Florence Pugh recalled a fan calling her out on a picture that she posted when she was 17. Saying, "I am ashamed of so many things in those few sentences", she further said that she was ''uneducated and unread'' about it. Pugh added that Black, Asian, Indian, and Native American cultures are constantly used and abused every new shopping season. "I am truly sorry to all of you that were offended for years or even just recently. I cannot dismiss the actions that I bought into years ago, but I believe that we who were blind to such things must acknowledge them and recognise them as our faults, our ignorance, and our white privilege and I apologise profusely that it took so long", she concluded. 

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