"I don’t know wtf Sydney Sweeney was doing."
Naked Sydney Sweeney Generates Controversy (Again) with "Infuriating" Novig Ad
Chloe Williams is B+C’s Entertainment Editor, Celebrity Interviewer, and On-Air Host with over 8 years of experience in the media space. Her interviews have amassed millions of views, and have been referenced in Vanity Fair, Deadline, and People. Whether she’s analyzing costumes, writing a movie review, or laughing with the hottest A-listers, she loves exploring themes of hope, restoration, and beauty. Chloe received a degree in American Southern Studies and Creative Writing from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and currently lives in New York City with an alarming amount of notebooks. Say hi at @thechloewilliams on Insta and TikTok and @popculturechlo on Twitter!
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Sydney Sweeney has once again found herself in the middle of controversy as football season kicks off. The Euphoria actress is the new face of Novig, and the campaign features her completely naked, except for some strategically-placed basketball hoops, footballs, and other equipment.
The campaign immediately began generating conversation online, and received some backlash from female athletes over the sexualization of women in sports. I do think that it's important (and also just interesting) to see that reports show 45% of viewers are more likely to watch men's professional sports, while 23% are likely to watch women's professional sports. However, a review of 1,000 Rolling Stone covers showed that in the 2000's, only 17% of men were hyper-sexualized compared to 83% of women. (Considering that was both 26 years ago and pre-social media, it's safe to assume it's only gotten worse over time).
Okay, so what was the response to Sydney Sweeney's Novig ad? Keep reading to see.
Female athletes are feeling "infuriated" by Sydney Sweeney's Novig ad...
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Olympic gold medalist Ariarne Titmus said on Instagram (via Deadline). “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. How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”
Australian World champion boxer Skye Nicolson chimed in, saying, “There’s a big difference between looking ‘sexy’ because you do sport compared to using sex to sell ‘sport’. 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.”
“I don’t know wtf Sydney Sweeney was doing, but it’s 2026. Stop sexualizing women in sport," Lucy Davis said in her own Instagram post.
But Sydney Sweeney counters with ESPN's BODY Issue.
After Sweeney played boxer Christy Martin in the 2025 biopic Christy, and went viral for clapping back at her body shamers with an empowering post about her strength and training, this definitely felt like a little bit of a 180 to me.
Even though Sweeney herself posted other photos of iconic athletes posing nude for ESPN's Body Issue, this still feels different. Maybe it's because it feels more gratuitous? Or maybe because it feels more like a sexualization than empowerment or celebration of the human body?
The official ESPN site says BODY "was born in October of 2009 with a singular mission: to celebrate the incredible power of the athletic form." Do you think Sydney Sweeney's Novig ad accomplishes that? Let us know in the comments.
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