Paris (France) (AFP) – Actor Sydney Sweeney has been condemned by leading women athletes for a sports betting advert in which the American appears in various states of undress. Sweeney, who starred in the TV series “Euphoria,” has been accused of sexualising women’s sport after posing with sports equipment in the commercial for US company Novig, which allows users to predict the outcome of sports matches. The 29-year-old has an equity stake in the firm.
Four-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ariarne Titmus said she thought the marketing tactic belonged to the past. “I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Titmus wrote on Instagram. “Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is — teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity…”
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“How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?” the Australian added. Several leading track and field athletes competing at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest last weekend expressed their consternation at Sweeney’s commercial, saying it was a misleading representation of how women in sport looked.
Having finished fourth behind US sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s winning time of 21.47 seconds in the 200 metres, the fourth fastest ever, British athlete Amy Hunt said in a BBC TV interview: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like. 21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears.” She added: “When you’re a woman in sport, it’s not pretty. It’s not glamorous. It’s not sexy all the time, definitely.”
Many athletes have posted videos of themselves, grouped around the message “this is what sport looks like.” US gymnast Gracie Kramer captioned her post, featuring her performing gymnastic routines and training in a variety of other sports, with the message: “idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what a woman in sport looks like.”
The outrage around the campaign echoes that provoked by American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” campaign in 2025. The campaign attracted heavy criticism for appearing to employ the language of eugenics, with Sweeney saying in a video that has since been deleted: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”
Sweeney later acknowledged that by failing to comment on the furore, it had only “widened the divide.” She added: “I was honestly surprised by the reaction. I’m against hate and divisiveness.”
© 2024 AFP
