Actor Sydney Sweeney is facing backlash for an advertisement all over again. After the American Eagle ad controversy, the actor has now starred in an advertisement for sports trading app Novig, appearing almost naked. It was met with criticism, with many athletes and commentators calling it out for accused of sexualising women’s sports. The actor has now responded to the backlash.
On the work front, Sydney was last seen in Season 3 of Euphoria. The ad features the Euphoria star appearing to be nude with various sports equipment. She posed naked while using items like footballs, basketballs, hockey pads, and tennis racquets to cover herself. Amid widespread criticism for the ad, Sydney defended it on her Instagram stories. It included pictures of Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Caroline Wozniacki, Myles Garrett, Rob Gronkowski, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jason Kelce. The HBO show starring Zendaya and Jacob Elordi marked the return of her character Cassie. The show opened to mixed review and is available to watch on JioHotstar. She was also seen in the sports drama Christy and the thriller, The Housemaid.
On Monday, the actor shared a nude image of herself from the ad alongside several ESPN photoshoots of famous athletes over the years posing without clothes.
The actor’s response raised eyebrows too. A Reddit user posted Sydney’s defence on the platform and several users lashed out on the actor. “They are professional athletes. They are not promoting gambling like Sydney,” wrote one. “She is tone deaf to criticism. It is not that you are naked too- it is WHY,” pointed out another. A comment read, “One can absolutely see the difference in the intent behind the professional athletes showing their bodies and the ad campaign SS did… one looks like art and the other looks cheap. People only need an ounce of media literacy to understand the difference. “These athletes are actually showcasing the sport through their physical fitness. It’s sexy yeah but it’s also a celebration of what they do. “What is this comparison? She is not an athlete. Their media compaigns were a direct protest against those comments and gender roles/stereotypes.
Sydney’s ad is a cosplay that promotes her own brand of objectification along with gambling, and honestly makes a mockery of the field with how she just says ‘sports’ over and over like we are all a bunch of braindead boys who love football and boobs,” said a second user. SS has no concept of whatever subversion is,” said another.
