Florence Pugh's relationship with Zach Braff is not up for debate.
In a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, the Little Women star reacted to receiving what she described as "horrid" and "hateful" comments about Zach and their 21-year age difference. Within "eight minutes" of publicly paying tribute to the actor on his birthday this week, Pugh said "70 percent of the comments [were] hurling abuse and being horrid."
The British actress said she was forced to turn off commenting capabilities on her account, adding, "I will not allow that behavior on my page. I'm not about that. It makes me upset. It makes me sad that during this time when we really all need to be together, we need to be supporting one another, we need to be loving one another. The world is aching and the world is dying and a few of you decided to bully for no reason."
Pugh's remarks continued, "I'm 24-years-old. I have been working since I was 17-years-old. I have been earning money since I was 17-years-old. I became an adult when I was 18-years-old and I started paying taxes when I was 18-years-old."
"I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love, and I would never in my life ever, ever tell someone who they can and cannot love. It is not your place. It has nothing to do with you."
Florence and Zach were first romantically linked around this time last year. The couple has shared very little about their relationship, save for the occasional date night or Instagram display of public affection.
The Midsommar actress then asked critics to simply unfollow her if they weren't willing to respect her and Zach's privacy. "The abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you're throwing at me, and I don't want those followers... I don't want that on my page. It's embarrassing, it's sad and I don't know when cyber bullying became trendy."
Florence's celebrity admirers applauded her stance, with Ariana Grande commenting, "Oh I love and appreciate [you] so much." Joey King wrote, "You are simply the coolest," and model Stefania Ferrario commented, "My partner is 22 years my senior and we have been together almost 7 years. Love is a diverse beautiful thing and I hope more people open their minds up a little more."
Watch Florence's message in its entirety above.