Sydney Sweeney, here we go again! After the controversial American Eagle jeans advertisement, the actress has decided to lend her body to another contentious promotional campaign, this time for the sports betting company Novig, of which she is about to become a shareholder. The campaign, launched last week, presents the actress under the banner “only sport,” with her intimate parts covered by footballs, tennis rackets, and basketball hoops, in an evident commodification of the female body to sell products aimed almost exclusively at a male audience. Reactions did not take long to arrive, and several Olympic athletes spoke out vehemently on the matter.
The champions’ reactions to Sydney Sweeney’s spot
Arianne Titmus, Australian swimmer and four-time Olympic gold medalist, wrote on Instagram: “Not only is this a slap in the face to all the women who have dedicated their lives to perfecting their abilities, but to every woman who loves sport for what it truly is: teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity. How can we live in a world where monetizing a woman’s body and sexualizing female athletes is still possible?” She is echoed by American gymnast Gracie Kramer, who posted a reel of her own feats with the following caption: “I don’t know what Sydney Sweeney meant to do, but this is the look of a woman who plays sport.” Her post has earned nearly a million likes, including one from American diver Kassidy Cook, while sprinter Bree Rizzo wrote: “There is so much more to women who play sports than appearance. There is their strength, skill, dedication, resilience, confidence, and everything they are capable of achieving.” Amy Hunt, British sprinter, stated in an interview with the BBC after competing at the World Athletics Championships: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what the face of women in sport looks like: muscles, hard work, blood, sweat and tears.” Skye Nicolson, Australian boxing champion, said it amounts to a mockery of women who compete: “There is a big difference between looking sexy because you play sport and using sex to sell the sport (she wrote in an IG story). There’s nothing wrong with being beautiful and playing sport, and there’s nothing wrong with embracing your femininity while also being a badass athlete.” Finally, English athlete Lucy Davis, in a post that also received a like from Florence Pugh, wrote: “I don’t know what the hell Sydney Sweeney was doing, but it’s 2026. Let’s stop sexualizing women in sport.” Sweeney apparently responded to the accusations in her IG stories, including nude photos of athletes such as Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe.
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