Sydney Sweeney
An advertising campaign starring American actor Sydney Sweeney has drawn sharp criticism from female athletes, who have accused the campaign of sexualising women and undermining the way female athletes are represented in sport.The controversy centres on an ad for sports prediction market platform Novig, in which Sweeney appears wearing little or no clothing. Footballs and other sports equipment are strategically positioned to cover parts of her body.The campaign has prompted a wave of criticism on social media, with several female athletes arguing that the imagery reinforces the sexualisation of women rather than highlighting athletic ability, strength and achievement.
Ariarne Titmus questions sexualisation of women’s sport
Four-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Ariarne Titmus was among those to voice her anger over the campaign.“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Titmus wrote on Instagram. “How do we live in a world where monetizing a woman’s body and sexualizing women’s sport is still a thing?”British sprinter Amy Hunt also weighed in following her fourth-place finish in the 200 metres at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday.During a post-race interview with the BBC, Hunt directly addressed Sweeney while looking into the camera.“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” she said. “Muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, tears.”
Former gymnast Gracie Kramer hits out at campaign
Former US gymnast Gracie Kramer described the advertisement as infuriating, drawing on her own experiences as a female athlete.“I’ve spent my entire life competing in a sport where female athletes have been oversexualized, reduced to our bodies, and forced to fight to be taken seriously for what we can actually do,” she said on Instagram.Kramer also shared images of female athletes training alongside the caption: “What a woman in sports looks like.”Chinese-German rugby player Sofie Fella similarly criticised the campaign, saying female athletes can serve as role models because they are able to “untangle” themselves from society’s expectations surrounding beauty and femininity.“And that’s why that Sydney Sweeney ad is so disrespectful to every female athlete in the world,” Fella said in an Instagram post.
Sydney Sweeney’s apparent response
Novig did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, while a publicist for Sweeney also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Amid the backlash, Sweeney appeared to reference the debate over the weekend by posting a series of covers from ESPN The Magazine’s “Body Issue” on social media.The annual special edition featured athletes posing nude or semi-nude and presented the images as a celebration of different body types.Sweeney, a two-time Emmy nominee, has also played a role connected directly to sport. She starred in and produced last year’s “Christy,” a biopic about American professional boxer Christy Martin.
Sydney Sweeney in boxing biopic ‘Christy’ (AP photo)
The latest controversy is not the first time a Sweeney brand campaign has generated significant online debate. Her 2025 American Eagle campaign, which used the homophones “jeans” and “genes,” also sparked widespread discussion.
