Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Culture > Entertainment

Why the Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney Drama is Just “Brangelina” 20 Years Later

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TCU chapter.

It could totally be just a PR stunt. But also, it would be so much more interesting if it was real. He is also a Pisces man, AKA he is going to fall in love with everyone he lays his eyes on.

You may be wondering: Who is Glen Powell?

Glen Powell is an American actor who has had small roles in a lot of films like The Dark Knight Rises and Hidden Figures, as well as major roles in the comedy series Scream Queens and movies like Netflix’s Set It Up. For the last few years, he has been dating model Gigi Paris. 

You probably know Sydney Sweeney, but just in case:

Sydney Sweeney, most notable for her role as Cassie in HBO’s Euphoria, has been in the center of the public eye for a while since the show’s debut. As of February 2022, Sydney has been engaged to Johnathon Davino, a Chicago restaurant chain heir who happens to be 13 years older than her. 

What is said “drama”?

As of April 2023, Sydney and Glen finished filming a new R-rated romantic comedy together in Australia, titled Anyone But You. While filming together, a variety of images and videos of the two have circulated around the internet which many online have considered to be “too close” for people who had significant others at the time of filming. 

Here is a detailed list of everything the internet has seen that has made everyone think there could be more between these two than just on-screen chemistry. 

BUT IS IT ALL PR?

The movie is a high-budget, R-rated, enemies-to-lovers story. The description sells the movie already. In addition to the stars being the beautiful Sydney Sweeney and the enchanting Glen Powell, I am sure I am not the only one who would have seen the movie even without the drama that ensued. The movie also just finished filming, so unless Sydney and Glen keep up the “Will they or won’t they?” act for the next six months, my memory of any of this occurring will definitely be forgotten by the time the movie is actually released. 

Although I would not put it past Hollywood, it is odd to think that his entire family would go along with such a plan. From attending and posting multiple excursions or trips they went on, if it is fake, I hope his family at least got paid to do all of that. Plus, why would only Gigi and Glen’s relationship have to “end” but Sydney and her fiance remain together?

Why this is so familiar to Brangelina:

Similarly, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie also started their love story like this through the filming of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In their case, Brad was actually married to Jennifer Aniston at the start of filming and the two ultimately divorced after Brad so clearly fell in love with Jolie on set. All the while, Brad and Jolie denied their relationship for a long time, never really confirming it until January 2006 (3 years after filming Mr. and Mrs. Smith). 

So is Sydney still engaged?

As of now, yes? But also maybe not? While Sydney has been notably not wearing her engagement ring in recent weeks, she has been known to go without it to public events before the drama ensued. That said, now would be the perfect time to start wearing it again to disprove the rumors, but she still has yet to be seen with it. Overall, everyone is waiting to see what happens with them. There was large speculation Sydney and her fiance had split when he was seen packing lots of clothes into his car and even taking a dog with him. But who knows? Maybe he was going on a long guys’ trip and wanted to take only one of the couple’s two dogs with him. The couple also made a recent but tense outing without any PDA meaning the jury is still out on how their relationship will be impacted by the Glen relationship speculations, regardless if it is real or fake.

My takes on the situation:

There is no reason to be that *excited* while filming. Considering in the U.S. film industry, showing a man’s genitals is far more taboo than showing any naked female, I find it hard to believe that Glen’s *excitement* would be a directorial choice. While Sydney Sweeney is beautiful, the two are ultimately coworkers, so being that obviously excited for your coworker is weird if you are not involved romantically at all. And it is especially weird and disrespectful when you yourself had a girlfriend of several years at the time of dating. So I am honestly really happy for Gigi because no woman deserves a boyfriend who takes his coworker he is clearly sexually attracted to on trips and events with his entire extended family. 

Also, while I love to support women’s wrongs, Sydney is difficult to defend in this situation as well. Regardless of her own feelings towards her fiance or Glen, I wish she would have respected Gigi enough to not be so physically close with Glen off-camera. It is not Sydney’s fault that Glen is attracted to her, but I am sure she is also not stupid and would have noticed Glen’s reactions toward her. In my opinion, she should have set greater boundaries between them out of respect for Gigi and her own fiance. 

Madelin is a sophomore at Texas Christian University, studying business on the pre-law track, where she serves as the Treasurer for Dance Marathon. Growing up in El Paso, Texas, she is a Latina who wants to be a role model for other young women who want to pursue business. When not studying, Madelin is browsing TikToks about her favorite artists, Harry Styles and BTS, or updating herself on current pop culture events and astrological trends.