Ariana Grande Defends Pal Florence Pugh After Her Relationship With Zach Braff Is Trolled

Ariana Grande said she's "taken a step back" from sharing personal things online after supporting Florence Pugh's relationship with Zach Braff.

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April 9, 2020 11:08AM EDT
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Florence Pugh in the front row Louis Vuitton show, Front Row, Fall Winter 2020, Paris Fashion Week, France - 03 Mar 2020
Florence Pugh is spotted having dinner at Pierluigi Restaurant in Rome, Italy, with her new boyfriend Charlie Gooch. 26 Mar 2023 Pictured: Florence Pugh; Charlie Gooch. Photo credit: AMOR ROMA / MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA961583_023.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]
Florence Pugh, center, and her parents Deborah Mackin, left, and Clinton Pugh attend a special screening of "A Good Person" at Metrograph, in New York NY Special Screening of "A Good Person", New York, United States - 20 Mar 2023
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Ariana Grande has defended her pal Florence Pugh, 24, after the Little Women star posted an Instagram video declaring “being hateful is not trendy”, in response to trolls criticizing her relationship. The British beauty broke her silence on April 8 with a three-minute video slamming the negative comments she received about the 21-year age gap between herself and her boyfriend, Zach Braff, 45. The “thank u, next” songstress commented “oh i love and appreciate u so much,” before adding, “‘being hateful is not trendy’ a new tattoo for my chest.” Ari also took to her own Instagram story in a since-deleted post in which she detailed her experience with sharing “personal life things” online, and how it has impacted her.

“Sharing special, personal life things that make u happy on the internet can be truly traumatic,” she captioned her story. “I know I’ve taken a step back from doing so to protect my loved ones and myself but I just wanted to share this and let u know how perfectly u expressed this and how appreciated u are for doing so.” She also quoted a line from Florence’s video in which she said, “I’m 24 years old. I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love. It is not your place and really it has nothing to do with you.” The “Into You” hitmaker wrote: “I screamed” in reference to Florence’s quip about her age.

The IGTV video was posted in response to comments left on a birthday tribute Florence posted for Zach. The Scrubs star turned 45 on April 6, making him two decades older than Florence. “Within about eight minutes of the photo being posted, I had about 70 percent of the comments hurling abuse and being horrid and basically bullying someone on my page,” Florence, who was visibly upset, revealed. “It is the first time in my entire Instagram life that I have had to turn off the comments on my page,” she continued. “I have never been an Instagram page that encourages that. I have never been an Instagram page that likes that toxic vibe.”

Florence will no longer stand for hateful comments, especially amid the coronavirus outbreak. “I will not allow that behavior on my page. I’m not about that. It makes me upset,” she continued. “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.”

Zach cast Florence as the lead in his 2019 short film In The Time It Takes to Get There, and they started dating that same year! Florence and Zach are now quarantining and fostering a puppy together.