Sydney Sweeney is once again at the center of a major advertising controversy — but this time, the criticism is coming from some of the biggest names in women’s sport.
The Euphoria star appears in a new campaign for Novig, a sports prediction platform, in which she poses with different pieces of sports equipment while wearing very little clothing. The campaign was designed to grab attention, and it certainly succeeded. But female athletes around the world are now arguing that the ad crosses a line by turning women’s sport into a sexualized marketing tool.
What Is the Sydney Sweeney Sports Ad About?
The Novig campaign uses Sweeney in a series of deliberately provocative sports-themed scenes.
She appears with basketballs, footballs, a tennis racket and other sporting equipment while delivering a message centered on “just sports.” The ad eventually shows her topless on a pool table, reinforcing the campaign’s intentionally provocative tone.
The advertisement quickly went viral.
According to reports, it had already been viewed tens of millions of times online, making it impossible for the controversy to stay within advertising and entertainment circles.
But the attention wasn’t necessarily the reaction Novig expected.
Female Athletes Are Calling It Out
One of the strongest responses came from Ariarne Titmus, the four-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer.
Titmus said she was deeply frustrated by the campaign and questioned why women’s bodies were still being used to sell products connected to sport.
Her criticism was echoed by athletes including British sprinter Amy Hunt, gymnast Gracie Kramer, Olympic cyclist Sophie Capewell and several Australian sports stars.
Hunt delivered one of the most memorable responses.
After finishing fourth in the 200-meter final at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest, she directly addressed Sweeney during a BBC Sport interview.
Her message was simple: “This is what women in sport look like.”
The comment quickly became part of the wider online conversation.
Athletes Are Showing What Real Sports Looks Like
Instead of simply criticizing the advertisement, several athletes decided to respond with footage of their actual careers.
Gymnast Gracie Kramer helped start a trend in which athletes posted videos of themselves competing and training alongside the message that this is what a woman in sport looks like.
The Australian Institute of Sport also joined the conversation, sharing footage highlighting female athletes across different disciplines.
That response has shifted the controversy from simply being about Sweeney’s appearance to a much bigger discussion about how women are represented in sports advertising.
Is the Criticism About Sydney Sweeney Herself?
Not necessarily.
Several athletes have made an important distinction: the criticism isn’t simply that Sweeney appeared in a revealing advertisement.
Instead, they object to the way sexuality was used as the central selling point in an advertisement about sports.
Boxer Skye Nicolson, for example, argued that there is a difference between an athlete embracing her appearance and a company using sexuality to sell a sports-related product.
That distinction has become one of the biggest points in the debate.
Supporters of Sweeney’s campaign, meanwhile, argue that a woman can be both confident and sexual without that automatically undermining her strength or achievements.
How Has Sydney Sweeney Responded?
Sweeney has not issued a lengthy public statement addressing every criticism.
However, after the backlash intensified, she shared images connected to previous sports-related magazine shoots featuring famous female athletes. Some observers interpreted the posts as a response to the criticism and an attempt to point out that athletic women have also appeared in revealing imagery before.
Novig has also defended the creative direction of the campaign, describing it as a playful approach intended to make people look at sports differently.
Why This Controversy Is Getting So Much Attention
Part of the reason is simply Sweeney’s enormous visibility.
The actress has become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable young stars, and her advertising campaigns routinely generate discussion online.
This is also not the first time one of her major campaigns has triggered a cultural debate. That history means people were already paying close attention when the Novig advertisement appeared.
But this controversy has taken on a different dimension because professional athletes themselves are now directly challenging the campaign.
For them, the issue isn’t whether Sweeney is attractive or whether women can embrace sexuality.
It’s about whether women’s athletic achievements are still being pushed into the background while their bodies remain a marketing shortcut.
And that’s why a commercial that was seemingly designed to create buzz has turned into a much bigger conversation about women, sport and advertising.
For Sydney Sweeney, the campaign has once again proven that she knows how to get people talking.
The question now is whether the attention will ultimately help Novig — or leave the brand facing a backlash much bigger than the campaign originally anticipated.
