Sydney Sweeney’s Novig campaign has drawn criticism from female athletes, while an old video of the actress was misleadingly linked to the controversy.
Actress Sydney Sweeney has faced criticism from female athletes following a provocative advertising campaign for sports betting company Novig, in which she posed with sports equipment covering her modesty.
The campaign, released last week, quickly attracted widespread attention, with headlines focusing on the Euphoria star’s revealing appearance.
However, criticism intensified over the weekend as female athletes spoke out about what they viewed as the sexualisation of women in sport.
British sprinter Amy Hunt addressed the campaign during a BBC interview after competing at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” Hunt said. “Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears. This is a beautiful evening.”
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, also expressed her frustration on Instagram.
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Titmus wrote.
The campaign also generated criticism and mockery across social media, with some users targeting Sweeney over her decision to participate in the advertisement.
Old video wrongly linked to advert controversy
Amid the backlash, an old video of Sweeney resurfaced online alongside claims that it showed the actress responding to criticism of the Novig campaign.
However, the clip predates the current controversy by several years and is unrelated to the advertising campaign.
The footage shows Sweeney crying during an Instagram Live after discovering that she was trending online because of comments about her appearance.
One social media user shared the clip while claiming that Sweeney was breaking down after being criticised by athletes over the Novig advertisement.
The claim is misleading because the video is around six years old and has no connection to the current advertising controversy.
The resurfacing of the footage has nevertheless added another layer to the online discussion surrounding Sweeney and the Novig campaign.
Debate over women’s representation in sport
The controversy comes amid a wider debate on social media about the representation of women in sport and the way female athletes’ bodies are portrayed in advertising and popular culture.
The reaction from athletes such as Hunt and Titmus has shifted attention beyond Sweeney’s appearance in the campaign towards broader questions about how women in sport are represented and marketed.
At the same time, the circulation of unrelated older footage highlights how social media posts can create misleading connections between past events and current controversies.