(CNN) - Female athletes expressed angry and disapproving reactions to an advertising campaign characterized by an “exaggerated sexual nature,” in which American actress Sydney Sweeney appears naked or semi-naked as she poses with sports equipment.
Australian surfer Felicity Palmiter told CNN that the campaign launched by Novig, an American sports predictions platform, is "extremely harmful" to female athletes and young girls who want to enter the field of sports.
In a group of photos and videos published on Wednesday, Sydney Sweeney appears nude or semi-naked, holding American football balls, a tennis racket or a baseball bat, and in one of the shots, she appears lying naked on top of a basketball.
“Novig” also published an advertisement through “Reels” clips on the Instagram platform, which received 37 million views within 4 days.
Felicity Palmiter was one of many female athletes who criticized the campaign.
“It's a feeling of complete astonishment and enormous disappointment that women's sports can be set back so much in just a 42-second commercial,” she told CNN, adding that the campaign is "extremely harmful, especially for young girls starting out in sports, for female athletes, and for women in general, given the content that is so sexually suggestive in the ad. We want to be appreciated for what we can do, not what we look like."
British runner Amy Hunt also referred to the advertising campaign, telling BBC Sport: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sports look like: muscles, hard work, sweat, blood and tears.”
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmuss, winner of four Olympic medals, posted a response to the campaign via the “Story” feature on her account on the Instagram platform.
“I wasn't going to share this because I didn't want to give it more attention, but I can't be silent,” Titmus said, according to 9News.
She continued, "I cannot describe the extent of the anger I feel when I watch this. Not only does this represent a blatant insult to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her skill, but also to every woman who enjoys sport for its true essence: teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity, and the list goes on."
Australian swimmer Lani Pallister was among the athletes who responded to the ad, as she posted a video clip collecting footage of her training and participation in competitions, accompanied by the phrase: “I don’t know what Sydney imagines sport looks like, but this is what sport looks like.”
Australian boxer Skye Nicholson also posted a similar video in response to the same ad.
The accompanying caption read: “They gave the campaign exactly what it wanted, but honestly, these companies need to do better. Stop sexualizing women in sports.”
Retired American gymnast, Gracie Kramer, also described the announcement as “very provocative, frankly,” in a message she posted via the “Story” feature on her account on the Instagram platform.
“I have spent my entire life playing a sport in which female athletes were over-sexualized, our value was reduced to our bodies, and we had to fight to be taken seriously based on what we could really do,” Kramer wrote, adding that the ad “seems like a massive step backwards.”
Sydney Sweeney appeared to respond to the wave of criticism, by publishing a series of photos from ESPN The Magazine's annual "Body Issue."
The annual edition included dozens of athletes who appeared naked or semi-nude, over a period of 11 years that ended in 2019.
This is not the first time that Sydney Sweeney's participation in an advertising campaign has sparked controversy.
In the summer of 2025, she appeared in a campaign for the American clothing brand American Eagle, a campaign that some claimed promoted eugenics and white supremacy.
“Genes are passed from parents to children,” she says in one ad, and in another, she claims, “My body composition is determined by my genes.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Sidney Sweeney and Novig for comment.
