Sydney Sweeney has faced criticism over a sexually provocative advert for sports prediction company Novig, with female athletes arguing that its treatment of the actor’s body undermines progress made in women’s sport.
The commercial features Sweeney naked while using sporting equipment, including footballs, basketballs and hockey sticks, to cover herself. She poses for the camera before saying: “No betting on wars or deaths and no politics. Just sports.”
Sweeney described the campaign as a promotion of sport with “confidence, humour and a playful edge”. The advert has nevertheless prompted anger from Australian swimming champion Ariarne Titmus, water polo player Tilly Kearns and Canadian alpine skier Cassidy Gray.
Critics have argued that the campaign sexualises sport rather than celebrating athletes, at a time when female competitors have faced persistent objectification, misogyny and harassment.
Questions over Sweeney’s response
The controversy follows a series of public comments by Sweeney about the way women, including herself, are discussed and treated in the entertainment industry.
Last year, she spoke about her experiences in kickboxing while promoting Christy, a film in which she played boxer Christy Martin. Sweeney said she had been the only girl at her training sessions and recalled that some fathers objected to their sons fighting her, although she sometimes won.
She has also described public discussion of her body as dehumanising. “People feel connected and free to be able to speak about me in whatever way they want, because they believe that I’ve signed my life away,” she told Variety. “That I’m not on a human level anymore, because I’m an actor.”
Sweeney established her own production company, Fifty-Fifty Films, and has said that being creatively involved in the industry is important to her. She told Elle that taking an active role in shaping her career would allow her to pursue her passions and make a meaningful impact.
Her appearance in the Novig advert has led to accusations that those positions sit uneasily alongside a campaign built around sexualised imagery. The advertisement has also been compared with an earlier American Eagle Outfitters campaign featuring Sweeney, which became embroiled in a cultural controversy over wordplay involving “genes” and “jeans”.
During the latest backlash, Sweeney posted images on Instagram of ESPN magazine covers featuring athletes including Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird posing naked.
Those covers were part of ESPN’s annual Body issue, which was intended to celebrate athletes’ strength, ability and physical diversity, alongside interviews about body image and vulnerability.
Critics have said the comparison is misplaced because Sweeney is promoting a betting service rather than making a statement about athletic bodies. The controversy has renewed scrutiny of the way the actor uses provocative advertising and public attention to promote commercial projects.
