American actress Sydney Sweeney is again at the center of a scandal because of her sexuality. The star of Euphoria and The Maid, who has repeatedly said how annoying she is at the sexualization of her body in the media, appeared naked in an advert for a bookmaker. And if earlier, because of her participation in advertising, Sweeney was accused of racism and propaganda of eugenics, now professional athletes have taken up arms against her. They believe that the actress unjustifiably sexualizes women's sports, playing along with the “male gaze” - and this, in their opinion, throws the entire fight for women's rights back hundreds of years. Lenta.ru found out why no one likes one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood.
Why Sydney Sweeney is being canceled
29-year-old Sydney Sweeney starred in an advertisement for the American sports forecasting platform Novig, which positions itself not as an ordinary bookmaker, but as a full-fledged forecasting market. This means that users do not bet against the bookmaker, but buy and sell contracts on the outcome of sporting events to each other.
The ad opens with a shot of a naked Sweeney covering her chest with two American footballs. She directly addresses the audience and invites them to test how well they understand the sport. After that, she is shown in different sports locations: almost everywhere she appears without clothes.
The advertising campaign was called Novig is Just Sports (“Novig is just a sport”). However, as the reaction on social networks shows, sports are the last thing that interests users. Many were outraged by the promotional video and once again criticized Sweeney for monetizing the female body. The actress herself seems to understand everything perfectly and actively continues to make money from scandals with her name.
Naked investor
According to Novig co-founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky, his company initially did not count on such high-profile advertising. Everything changed after Sweeney herself approached them as a potential investor interested in the prediction market. Gradually their cooperation grew into a closer partnership.
It is likely that the TV star was inspired by her past collaboration with the American Eagle brand. That advertising campaign caused a wave of criticism and even provoked accusations of racism, but for the brand it turned out to be extremely successful: thanks to Sweeney, the value of its shares rose sharply, and on one day (September 4, 2025) it even jumped by 38 percent, which was the largest increase in the company’s quotes in its entire history.
The Internet has repeatedly joked that Sweeney’s ample bust (and the actress has a breast size of four) has helped increase sales for more than one brand. In the same advertisement for American Eagle, the actress was supposed to show off jeans, but the designers still managed to dress her in a jacket with a deep neckline, shifting the emphasis from the clothes. This was even more ironic in an advertisement for Miu Miu bags: the bag is barely visible, and Sweeney poses in a jacket worn over a naked body.
The controversial celebrity responded to criticism by calling the Novig commercial a “very simple and playful idea” that reflects well on the sports betting market.
Sweeney also recalled that she has quite a wealth of experience in sports: as a child, she played football, softball, skiing and even martial arts, and now she loves watching hockey and boxing. In addition, last year the film “Christy” was released, where Sweeney played Christy Martin, one of the most famous American boxers. For the sake of this role, Sweeney actively engaged in sports and gained 13.5 kilograms of weight (however, the film still failed miserably at the box office).
"A Slap in the Face of Every Woman"
After the publication of the Novig video, controversy erupted online about how acceptable it is today to sexualize a woman’s body for the sake of advertising. Critics are confident that the image depicted by Sweeney has nothing to do with real women's sports and was created solely to attract men. Against this background, users on TikTok began to massively upload videos and photos from women’s competitions and tag Sydney Sweeney under them.
Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns responded to the sensational advertisement. She posted a video of her workout and captioned it: “I hate this Sydney Sweeney commercial with all my heart.” The video quickly went viral, receiving more than two million likes on TikTok.
American gymnast Gracie Kramer also spoke out, posting footage of the best moments of her competitions with the caption: “I don’t know what Sydney Sweeney is doing, but this is what women in sports really look like.” And four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus was especially harsh on this topic, who was, in her own words, “furious” with the Novig advertisement.
Thousands of caring commentators flooded the social networks of the heroine of the promotional video. Some openly criticize the actress, calling her “Cassie in real life” and accusing her of throwing feminism back decades. Others, on the contrary, praise the star, compliment her appearance and urge others to accept a woman’s choice if she herself is not against the sexualization of her body.
Sweeney herself did not publicly respond to the criticism. However, several photographs appeared on her social networks, which many perceived as a kind of response to general discontent. The actress published a whole series of covers of the ESPN sports magazine over the years with completely naked athletes. Among them are Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and UFC legend Ronda Rousey.
This is probably how the actress wanted to remind critics that sexualized images of women appeared in the media long before her Novig advertising. But at the same time, she forgets that attitudes towards women's sports are rapidly changing: today, athletes are seeking the introduction of a more closed form and are opposed to being looked at as an object of entertainment.
