Sydney Sweeney faces backlash over 'sexualising women's sport' in sports ad

Actor Sydney Sweeney has faced criticism from Olympic athletes over a sports prediction advert that features her in various states of undress while pretending to play different sports.

The campaign was launched by US sports prediction market company Novig and features Sweeney alongside scenes intended to showcase women's sport.

Retired Australian Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus criticised the advert, saying such marketing should be a thing of the past.
"I can't describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this," the four-time Olympic gold medallist wrote on Instagram.

She said the campaign was disrespectful to women who had dedicated their lives to sport and criticised the use of women's bodies to promote sports-related products.

Other athletes also criticised the advert while highlighting their own achievements in women's sport.

Australian Olympic swimmer Lani Pallister shared a video showing her training, races and medals, following a trend started by American gymnast Gracie Kramer with the line, "this is what a woman in sport looks like".

Track sprinter Bree Rizzo also shared highlights from her career, while the Australian Institute of Sport posted a video featuring archery, gymnastics, boxing, softball and women's sports science.

Water polo silver medallist Tilly Kearns also criticised the campaign, while world champion boxer Skye Nicolson said the backlash was about the way women's sport was being presented rather than women's appearance.

"There's a big difference between looking 'sexy' because you do sport compared to using sex to sell 'sport'," Nicolson wrote on Instagram.

"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."

Some social media users said the criticism should be directed at Novig rather than Sweeney. However, Sweeney is more than the face of the campaign, having joined Novig as a "strategic partner and equity holder", according to the company.

The controversy comes after Sweeney faced similar criticism over American Eagle's "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans" campaign in 2025.

That campaign was criticised for its use of language that some said evoked eugenics. Sweeney later said she was surprised by the reaction and that she was "against hate and divisiveness".