Cornell 7: From Florence Pugh To Olivia Rodrigo, The Celebrities Speaking Out

Content warning: This article contains allegations of sexual assault and abuse.

Prosecutors in New York State are reopening their investigation into allegations that a woman was raped at Cornell University in 2024.

The allegations were detailed in a civil lawsuit filed by the woman, who is referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, on 16 September. She claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted by several people at a fraternity house during the night of 19 October 2024.

According to the lawsuit, seven men associated with Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity are accused of assaulting Doe in an incident involving alcohol and ketamine, where she says she was intoxicated and unable to consent at the time.

The lawsuit alleges that one of the men posted a message in the Snapchat group chat referring to "free p***y" and encouraging other members to come over. It also contains further allegations of graphic abuse, including claims that men snorted lines of ketamine from her body and continued sexually assaulting her until she lost consciousness at around 5.45am.

Doe said she told university authorities about the alleged assault on 8 November 2024.

On Monday, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said prosecutors had determined that the evidence contained in Doe's account did not meet the legal threshold needed to pursue criminal charges at the time of her initial report. 

He added that he had been in contact with Doe and her legal team to gather additional information ahead of presenting the case to a grand jury.

The allegations have since attracted international attention, with much of the online discussion referring to the seven accused men as the 'Cornell 7'.

Toby Morton, a former writer for South Park, has added to the online attention by launching TheCornell7.org, a website centred on the seven Chi Phi fraternity brothers named in the lawsuit.

As the allegations gained wider attention, several high-profile figures have spoken publicly about the case, including Jameela Jamil, Florence Pugh, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Actor and comedian Josh Gad also addressed the allegations in a statement shared on Instagram, while Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams shared a similar sentiment on his Instagram Story on 29 September.

Olivia Rodrigo

Florence Pugh

Pugh took to Instagram with an eight-page carousel in which she expressed her anger after the allegations came to light.

"You need to be leading conversations about how we change the allowance and complicity of this behaviour as much as we are," Pugh penned. "How can you expect us to trust that it's 'not all men' when in moments like this, many of you stay quiet?"

"There is no equality until you respect our bodies," she added. "There is no equality until we can say we feel safe."

The actress later returned to Instagram to question whether her post had been restricted before resharing her statement.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)

On Sunday, AOC addressed the allegations, according to The Cornell Daily Sun. 

"Jane Doe, that survivor, lost her education because you can't stay in school when something like that happens to you," Ocasio-Cortez shared. "She had to lose her education, and those men were protected by an institution and granted an Ivy League degree as a reward. Never again."

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