Sydney Sweeney is locked in bitter feuds with stars including Zendaya, Ruby Rose and Aimee Lou Wood over her political views and controversial ad – does she really deserve all the hate?

She’s come under fire ever since her Republican views and controversial American Eagle jeans advert emerged, with A-listers including Zendaya and Aimee Lou Wood among the stars slowly turning their backs on the actress.

And Sydney Sweeney, 28, is barely bothered by the criticism, with the Hollywood star insisting she ‘can’t control’ how people perceive her.

The unfazed actress has been at the centre of a hate storm from fans and stars across the globe, with Ruby Rose the latest celeb to follow suit.

The Orange Is The New Black star targeted the Euphoria icon in a blistering takedown for her role in new biopic Christy, following the life of esteemed boxer and domestic abuse survivor Christy Martin.

After the movie’s release over the weekend, the lacklustre reception – including one of the lowest ever domestic openings for a wide release – has set tongues wagging, leading into Ruby’s explosive rant towards Republican Sydney.

In her online tangent, she hit out at Sydney, as she claimed she was originally set to play Christy, who she calls ‘Cherry’ in the message, and claimed that the original line-up was nearly entirely queer, shortly before claiming Sydney ‘hates gay people’.

She wrote: ‘The original Christy Martin script was incredible. Life changing. I was attached to play Cherry. Everyone had experience with the core material. Most of us were actually gay. It’s part of why I stayed in acting. Losing roles happens all the time.

‘For her PR to talk about it flopping and saying SS did it for the “people”. None of “the people” want to see someone who hates them, parading around pretending to be us. You’re a cretin and you ruined the film. Period. Christy deserved better.’

Despite her allegations that Christy ‘deserved better’, the boxer, who shot to fame in the 1990s with 49 wins under her belt, has thrown her support behind Sydney and joined her at many turns of the promo trail.

Sydney, who has been vocal about her support for President Trump, was also hated on for starring in an American Eagle jeans advert, which some right-on commentators deemed was racist due to a pun linking ‘jeans’ and ‘genes’.

Her political views sparked outrage from Zendaya, with The Mail on Sunday revealing last week that the pair are locked in a bitter feud – and are even refusing to stand near each other at events.

Zendaya, 29, is said to have been upset by her co-star’s views. 

She is said to be ‘refusing’ to do press calls for the upcoming third season of Euphoria with Sweeney after filming finished earlier this month, according to sources working on the show.

One insider said: ‘It’s no wonder she’s refusing to do it. It’s a difficult position for Zendaya to be in because if she even stands next to Sydney on the red carpet, it can be read as her excusing Sydney’s views on Trump and her refusal to apologise for the racist ad.’

The pair were once close friends with Sweeney affectionately referring to her co-star as ‘Z’. 

Zendaya has been outspoken in her opposition to Trump. In 2020 she shared an Instagram post explaining voting rights with the caption, ‘Vote this MF out’. 

Meanwhile, The White Lotus star Aimee and Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens have weighed in on the backlash surrounding Sydney’s controversial jeans ad. 

When Sydney was given the chance to address claims the ad condoned ‘genetic superiority,’ she dodged the opportunity to either defend or apologise for the campaign.

Instead, she issued a vague response that neither refuted the white supremacy claims nor agreed with them, simply stating: ‘I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.’

Aimee took a swipe at fellow The White Lotus star Sydney after the actress broke her silence on the ad in a new interview in which she brushed off the backlash.

After Misan Harriman posted footage of the GQ interview on Instagram, the Nigerian-born British photographer condemned Sydney’s comments and accused her of failing to acknowledge the harm caused by the campaign earlier this year.

‘Presuming that you are not a white supremacist, at least say how horrified you were by how this campaign was amplified and celebrated by unrepentant racists who believe in eugenics,’ he wrote. 

‘At least recognise the harm your jeans campaign has caused black folk. The undertone of the campaign is that your genetics are superior to others – the play on words is clear as day and racists LOVED it! 

‘So, presuming you didn’t know when you shot it, you certainly do now, and it matters. This ain’t it!’

Aimee, who played free-spirited optimist Chelsea in series three of The White Lotus, quickly commented on Misan’s post with a green nauseated-face emoji. Meanwhile, Christina Ricci liked a similar post.

Her reaction attracted over a thousand likes in less than an hour, and replies from fans applauding her stance.

‘You’re a real one, Aimee Lou Wood!’ wrote one follower, while another added: ‘Clock it sis!’ 

Others filled the replies with heart and applause emojis, hailing the British actress for speaking out.

English actor Dan also made a cutting criticism of her comments, as he reshared a post which read: ‘Sydney Sweeney’s GQ interview is a reminder that “not having a stance” on white supremacy is 100% having a stance on white supremacy.’ 

Speaking to GQ about the backlash, Sydney minimised her role, stating: ‘I did a jean ad. The reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life.’ 

Critics accused the brand of echoing eugenicist language around ‘good genes’ and ‘genetic superiority’, claiming it appealed to right-wing and white-nationalist groups online.

Elsewhere in the media storm surrounding the movie star, Sydney risked ruining friendships with Taylor Swift after angering the beloved singer’s fans with her reported new romance with Taylor’s enemy, Scooter Braun. 

The pair reportedly met while attending the Venice wedding of billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in June, and sources claimed the music mogul has been ‘pursuing’ her ever since. 

Scooter has long been hated by Taylor’s fans after he purchased the hitmaker’s musical masters in a deal reportedly worth more than $300million.

In the years since, Swift very publicly battled against Braun, claiming that she had tried to purchase the masters herself but had not been given the chance, and accused him of ‘incessant, manipulative bullying’. 

Taylor subsequently re-recorded several of her albums that she had lost the masters of, and, in May this year, Swift finally bought back the rights to all her music for a reported $360million.

Fans on X have said: ‘Starting to wonder if rage baiting is Sydney Sweeney’s new marketing strategy.

‘As someone who has been mildly amused and very impressed by Sydney Sweeney’s ability to constantly p**s everyone off, it pains me to say that the Scooter Braun dating rumours have stunned me to silence. She finally got me.’

But those who are pro-Sydney Sweeney have said the Anyone But You star ‘doesn’t deserve’ the amount of hate she has received.

Despite the actress’s views, fans on X have thrown support for Sydney, writing: ‘Seriously we’re at the point for a young woman needing to be apologetic about being attractive because she inferred she likes her genetic code’,

‘The Sydney Sweeney “has good genes” ads aren’t about white supremacy. There is no “racist undertone”, unless you choose to put it there’

Sydney said she ‘can’t control’ how people perceive her as she responded to the criticism and backlash she has faced over the last few years, in a recent interview with The Guardian.

She said: ‘I think what’s interesting is I’m always myself. I’m always just me. But it’s what other people put on me that’s uncontrollable.

‘Like you’re going to write this article … Then people will read it and have their own perception. So I try and be as much of me as possible, but it’s always through other people’s lenses.’

Sydney’s latest film Christy suffered a knockout blow as it arrived in select theaters over the weekend, grossing a meagre $1.3million. 

The film, starring Sweeney as Hall of Fame boxer Christy Martin, was released in 2,011 theaters, averaging $649 per venue, according to The Wrap.

The opening for the movie – which had a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes Sunday evening – ranked in the top 12 worst ever for movies showing on more than 2000 screens, Box Office Mojo reported.

Three of the films ranking below it were released within the first 14 months of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in March 2020, a timeframe when movie theatres took a huge business hit amid health mandates.

Sydney, promoting the film in an interview this past Friday, said she got so immersed in her role as Martin, she dealt with injuries including a bloody nose and a concussion.

The Emmy-nominated actress told The Sun about how she and her co-stars approached the fight scenes during production of the motion picture.

‘The girls and all the fights you see are real,’ the Spokane, Washington-born star said.

Sydney told the outlet, ‘When I walked in and I met with everyone, I said, “I want you to hit me. And I want you to hit me hard. And can I hit you?”.’ 

She added, ‘When you watch all those fights, we’re actually hitting each other. We were knocking each other out, we were getting bloody noses. I got [a] concussion. We were actually fighting.’

‘I walked onto set everyday surrounded by a crew that poured their hearts and souls into this story. I fought alongside a group of women who became my family.

‘We trained harder than we ever thought we could then would end up singing our hearts out on the ring floor.’