Sydney Sweeney has faced fresh criticism over her latest advertising campaign, with female athletes, including Olympians, accusing the promotion of sexualising women’s sport, writes Deadline.
Sweeney appears in the campaign for sports prediction company Novig wearing what the brand describes as “just sports”. In the images, footballs, tennis rackets and basketball hoops are used to cover her modesty.
The campaign was released last week and quickly drew attention to Sweeney’s lack of clothing. Over the weekend, several female athletes spoke out against what they saw as the sexualisation of women in sport.
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medallist, wrote on Instagram.
She said the campaign was “a kick in the face” to women who have dedicated their lives to sport and questioned how the sexualisation and monetisation of women’s bodies remained part of sports marketing.
American gymnast Gracie Kramer responded by sharing a highlight reel of her sporting achievements. “Idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what a woman in sports looks like,” the caption read.
The post received nearly one million likes and drew support from Olympic silver medallist Kassidy Cook, who commented with applause emojis.
Australian sprinter Bree Rizzo also shared her support, saying women in sport should be recognised for their “strength, skill, dedication, resilience, confidence and everything they’re capable of achieving”.
Australian world champion boxer Skye Nicolson said the campaign made a “mockery” of women’s sport. However, she stressed that there was nothing wrong with female athletes embracing their femininity.
“There’s a big difference between looking ‘sexy’ because you do sport compared to using sex to sell ‘sport’,” Nicolson wrote on Instagram.
Sweeney and Novig were approached for comment. Sweeney appeared to respond to the criticism on her Instagram Stories by sharing images of nude sports figures, including Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe.
The controversy comes after Sweeney faced backlash over her American Eagle “great genes/jeans” campaign. Critics accused the ads of promoting eugenics after Sweeney discussed inherited traits while promoting the clothing brand.
