Sydney Sweeney’s Nude Sports Betting Ad Sparks Backlash Among Female Olympians: “A Kick In The Face To Every Woman”

Sydney Sweeney is no stranger to starring in a controversial ad — and her latest effort has infuriated female athletes, including Olympians.

Sweeney posed for sports betting company Novig “wearing just sports,” meaning she was only covering her modesty with footballs, tennis rackets, and basketball hoops.

The campaign dropped last week, prompting inevitable headlines about the Euphoria star’s lack of clothes. But over the weekend, concern was vocalised among female athletes about the sexualization of women’s sports.

“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medalist for Australia, wrote on Instagram.

“Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity,” she continued. “How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”

Gracie Kramer, an American gymnast, posted a highlight reel of her sporting prowess. “Idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what a woman in sports looks like,” read the caption.

Kramer’s post has been liked nearly a million times, including by American diver Kassidy Cook. “This 👏👏👏,” the Olympic silver medalist commented on Kramer’s post.

Others were inspired by Kramer’s post and shared their own highlights reel. “There’s so much more to women in sport than how they look. It’s about their strength, skill, dedication, resilience, confidence and everything they’re capable of achieving,” wrote Australian sprinter Bree Rizzo.

Skye Nicolson, an Australian World champion boxer, said the backlash was about making a “mockery” of women in sport. “There’s a big difference between looking ‘sexy’ because you do sport compared to using sex to sell ‘sport’,” she wrote in an Instagram story.

“There is nothing wrong with looking good and doing sport and there’s nothing wrong with embracing your femininity while also being a badass athlete.”

Sweeney and Novig have been approached for comment. Sweeney appeared to respond to the criticism on her own Instagram Stories, posting a series of images of nude sports people, including Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe.

The controversy follows Sweeney’s “great genes/jeans” American Eagle ads, which were criticized for promoting eugenics, with Sweeney intoning: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”