What Is Sydney Sweeney Saying With Her New Naked Sports Betting Ad

There has always been a lot of controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney, from her American Eagle jeans ad to her interview with GQ, and now her viral ad for Novig. Since her campaign with American Eagle came out, there has been a lot of criticism toward the actress surrounding genetic superiority, white supremacy, and now her hyper-sexualized ad. Her continued silence, with more and more of these allegations coming out, has led people to believe she either supports them or just doesn’t care enough to speak out. 

The actress did an interview with GQ reporter Katherine Stoeffel, who said, “Specifically in this political climate, white people shouldn’t joke about genetic superiority.” When given a chance to address this, Sweeney said, “When I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.” This quote received significant backlash because the actress had the perfect opportunity to deny these allegations about her and her beliefs, but she chose not to. There were many conversations following this interview in which people argued that if they had faced accusations like these, they would have jumped at the chance to deny them, but Sweeney didn’t. 

Her latest controversy is her naked sports betting ad. The ad was for Novig, a company in which Sweeney holds equity. People were outraged by the campaign because Sweeney appears mostly naked while holding various pieces of sports equipment that are strategically placed to avoid revealing her intimate areas. She even appears naked on top of a basketball hoop with her legs spread open. The main criticism the ad received is that it undermines much of the hard work past generations of women have put into being taken seriously in sports.

In a press release put out by Novig, which is still up on their website, Sweeney said, “The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports.” If this were true, wouldn’t the ad have actually focused on real athletes doing their sport instead of a Hollywood actress posing naked in a dimly lit studio while repeatedly saying, “Just sports”? 

Sydney Sweeney, as a well-known public figure with a large following, has a substantial impact on her followers, especially younger ones. Her most famous roles, Euphoria and Anyone but You, both attract large audiences of younger viewers, primarily Gen Z. The younger people in this generation are still in a highly transitional and easily influenced period of their lives. Although the ad is not a direct, intentional attack on women’s sports, it conveys the message that women’s bodies and appearances are the most important and interesting aspects of them. It also reinforces gender stereotypes and can give young girls the impression that sports and women’s bodies are both objects used for male entertainment rather than empowering, character-building, and collaborative experiences. 

Interestingly, Sydney Sweeney has spoken out about domestic violence and people objectifying her body. When asked about people objectifying her on the Today show, she said, “I kind of just have to take it day by day and just keep being myself.” If she has spoken out about this, one wonders why she keeps doing ads with brands that are clearly willing to do whatever it takes to improve sales, including objectifying her body. On a larger scale, it is a brilliant marketing strategy, and Sydney Sweeney is an incredibly successful businesswoman. However, she may be the only woman benefiting from this ad. The amount of money and publicity she has received since the ad was published is significant. Still, it raises the question of whether those benefits are worth it when the ad undermines the years of work women have put into being taken seriously. In the span of a one-minute ad, the progress women have fought for in sports was reduced to the hyper-sexualization and objectification of a woman’s body.