Florence Pugh – star of both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the cinematic universe of my heart – has claimed she was banned from posting Instagram pics of Marvel’s new Disney+ show Hawkeye.
Pugh first entered the MCU in this year’s Black Widow film, where she starred as Yelena Belova alongside Scarlett Johansson, Rachel Weiss and David Harbour.
It turns out Yelena will have some sort of cameo role in Hawkeye, a new program which follows Avenger Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and new character Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld, who I’ve never forgiven for ruining the riff-off in Pitch Perfect 2).
On Thursday, Pugh posted two very tame screenshots from an upcoming episode of Hawkeye. The first shows her character facing Renner’s while he appears to flinch and the second is a close-up of Yelena looking serious, as Marvel characters often do. So, not really the meatiest of spoilers.
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The caption also left things cool and casual, with Pugh writing “….She’s here”. It’s not like we’re getting into Avengers Endgame level spoilers here, or even Tom Holland’s ‘accidental’ Marvel plot reveals.
While the majority of people were excited by the snaps, a few posted comments complaining about spoilers, with one calling Pugh a “spoiler queen” and another writing “you did not just spoil this for me I am WHEEZING”. Perhaps get checked for asthma?
The spoiler complaints were promptly shut down by other fans who pointed out that the end-credit scene of Black Widow pretty profoundly suggested that Pugh would be making an appearance in Hawkeye. The ep itself had also been released when Pugh posted the pictures.
However, according to Florence Pugh, she’s now been banned from posting about Hawkeye in her Instagram feed.
She wrote on her Story, “I never thought me posting love about a show in which I appear on would get taken down..but here we are.
“Someone on here complained so I’ve been blocked from posting my own appearance on a show that I’m very much in. Beyond ridiculous.
“Being in #Hawkeye is a privilege and thank you to all who welcomed me on set and off and all who are watching.”
While the post on her feed is still up, the whole affair does make it seem like spoiler culture hasn’t just changed the way fans engage with content, but also how actors share their work.
If you want to catch Hawkeye – and shield yourself from any spoilers, minute or major – you can catch it on Disney+, where new eps drop weekly.
