Sydney Sweeney responds to backlash over nude sports betting ad by sharing photos of naked athletes
Sydney Sweeney appeared to cheekily hit back at critics of her new ad on Sunday, sharing a series of Instagram Stories that highlight celebrities who have posed nude.
The former Euphoria actress, 29, took to the platform on ‘gamedayyy’ to share another clip of her commercial for Novig that was released on Wednesday.
She posted the video alongside a selection of promotional photos that show her in the buff or nearly-nude.
Meanwhile on her Stories, the blonde bombshell seemed to poke fun at social media users who complained about her highlighting her assets in a bid to get people to download the sports-only market predictions app.
Sweeney posted photos of Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki showing off skin for magazines.
She also pointed out men who have stripped down in the name of sports.
Sydney Sweeney appeared to cheekily hit back at critics of her new ad via her Instagram Stories on Sunday
The actress shared a series of photos that highlight celebrities who have posed nude in the name of sports
Myles Garrett, Rob Gronkowski, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jason Kelce featured in her round-up of naked men.
The star hasn’t directly responded to commenters who said they were ‘disgusted’ and ‘disappointed’ after catching the commercial.
‘As a former athlete and a woman who has personally experienced sexualized comments, I’m genuinely disgusted and disappointed by this campaign,’ one Instagram user wrote underneath Sweeney’s original post introducing the ad.
‘We’ve spent years fighting to be seen and respected for our talent, strength and achievements, not reduced to our bodies…’
Another user wrote: ‘It’s too bad she couldn’t do an ad like this with her clothes on. It’s meant to be controversial just like Brooke Shields years ago. That’s what sells. unfortunately.’
‘This is sad at this point,’ a third added. ‘Can’t sell or be a normal girl if she doesn’t use her body as a tool. Sexualizing sports like this is crazy.’
Sweeney shocked fans over the past week after posing completely naked for the most provocative commercial of her career.
The actress, who is no stranger to nudity thanks to her role on Euphoria, pushed the envelope by getting her gear off for sports prediction market Novig.
She included nude cover shoots of sports stars including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki, as well as several male athletes; Williams is seen above on September 10 in NYC
The star hasn’t directly responded to commenters who said they were ‘disgusted’ and ‘disappointed’ after catching her new Novig commercial
According to Novig founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky, it was Sweeney herself who decided to get nude for the campaign for a very surprising reason.
Sweeney was allegedly drawn to the platform because it’s focused strictly on sports predictions, whereas other platforms allow users to make predictions on almost anything.
‘She said, “I’m uncomfortable with other platforms that have markets on what color underwear I’m going to wear”,’ Fortinsky recalled in an interview with Front Office Sports.
‘There’s something clean about sports,’ she reportedly said.
Sweeney has an equity stake in Novig, so it’s no surprise that she was happy to create another watercooler moment by stripping down for the campaign.
‘Sydney is great at captivating audiences and being the center of attention,’ Fortinsky said.
‘In some sense, it forces us into the national discourse,’ he added.
In the commercial, Sweeney gets completely naked and uses a variety of sports equipment to protect her modesty.
Sweeney has an equity stake in Novig, so it’s no surprise that she was happy to create another watercooler moment by stripping down for the campaign
‘Think you know sports? Prove it. Novig is just sports,’ she purrs.
Sitting naked on a basketball hoop, she continues, ‘So they wanted a show? Just sports.’
Sweeney, now wearing just shoulder pads and a football placed over her nether regions, adds, ‘You can trade this sport. And this sport.’
‘No betting on wars or deaths and no politics. Just you, your takes, and sports,’ she later continues.
The commercial comes after reports that Sweeney’s media mogul boyfriend Scooter Braun has become an influence on her career.
According to Puck News, Braun was a factor in Sweeney’s recent decision to sign with Hollywood power player Kevin Huvane at CAA.
Braun set Sweeney up for dinner with Huvane without her other management knowing, which led to her signing with him over rival agents that had been ‘clamoring for a similar sit-down’ with her.
The bold career move came around the same time that Sweeney, 28, split from her longtime publicity team at ImPRint PR after a decade.
The commercial comes after reports that Sweeney’s media mogul boyfriend Scooter Braun has become an influence on her career
Both sides were reportedly happy to move on, with the ImPRint team growing ‘frustrated’ that Sweeney was no longer listening to their advice.
Puck points out that when ImPRint sent Sweeney to Variety’s Power of Women event last year in a bid to get her taken more seriously as an awards-worthy actress, she showed up in a sheer silver gown that highlighted her 32DD cleavage.
It’s currently unclear if Braun, who previously managed Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato, has any say in Sweeney’s current PR strategy or wardrobe choices.
The Daily Mail contacted Braun, ImPRint and Sweeney for comment at the time.
