Female Athletes Condemn Sydney Sweeney’s Sexualized Sports Ad/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ A Novig advertising campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney has drawn criticism from female athletes who say it sexualizes women in sports. Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus, sprinter Amy Hunt, former gymnast Gracie Kramer and rugby player Sofie Fella were among those speaking out. Neither Novig nor Sweeney’s publicist immediately responded, while the actor appeared to address the controversy by sharing ESPN “Body Issue” covers.
Quick Look
- The campaign promotes sports prediction market platform Novig.
- Sweeney appears minimally clothed and covered with strategically positioned sports equipment.
- Critics say the imagery reduces women in sports to their bodies.
- Ariarne Titmus called the campaign infuriating.
- Amy Hunt responded after competing in the 200 meters in Budapest.
- Gracie Kramer posted images of female athletes training.
- Sofie Fella called the advertisement disrespectful.
- Novig and Sweeney’s publicist did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
- Sweeney shared covers from ESPN The Magazine’s “Body Issue.”
- Her 2025 American Eagle campaign also generated widespread debate.
Deep Look
Novig Campaign Provokes Athlete Backlash
An advertising campaign starring American actor Sydney Sweeney has prompted widespread criticism from female athletes who accuse it of sexualizing women in sports.
The advertisement promotes Novig, a sports prediction market platform. Sweeney appears with little or no clothing while footballs and other pieces of sports equipment are positioned to cover parts of her body.
Athletes responding on social media argued that the campaign emphasizes sexual imagery instead of women’s athletic ability, discipline and accomplishments.
Ariarne Titmus Calls the Ad Infuriating
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, was among the most prominent athletes to criticize the campaign.
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” four-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Ariarne Titmus wrote on Instagram. “How do we live in a world where monetizing a woman’s body and sexualizing women’s sport is still a thing?”
Titmus and other critics said female athletes have worked for years to have their performances taken seriously without being reduced to their appearance.
Amy Hunt Responds Following 200-Meter Race
British sprinter Amy Hunt addressed Sweeney during a BBC interview Sunday after finishing fourth in the 200 meters at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” she said, looking at the camera. “Muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, tears.”
Hunt used the post-race interview to contrast the realities of elite athletic competition with the portrayal presented in the commercial.
Gracie Kramer Highlights Female Athletes’ Work
Former American gymnast Gracie Kramer also criticized the campaign, describing it as infuriating.
“I’ve spent my entire life competing in a sport where female athletes have been oversexualized, reduced to our bodies, and forced to fight to be taken seriously for what we can actually do,” she said on Instagram.
Kramer followed her remarks by posting social media stories showing female athletes during training.
She captioned the images: “What a woman in sports looks like.”
The posts formed part of a broader response in which athletes shared training and competition footage to emphasize physical skill, preparation and effort.
Sofie Fella Discusses Athletes as Role Models
Chinese-German rugby player Sofie Fella said women in sports can serve as important examples for girls and women.
She argued that female athletes demonstrate an ability to “untangle” themselves from social expectations involving femininity and physical beauty.
“And that’s why that Sydney Sweeney ad is so disrespectful to every female athlete in the world,” she said in an Instagram post.
The criticism centered on the contrast between the empowerment athletes can offer and advertising that opponents believe returns attention primarily to women’s bodies.
Novig did not immediately respond to an email requesting its reaction to the criticism.
A publicist representing Sweeney also did not immediately answer a request for comment.
Sweeney appeared to reference the controversy indirectly over the weekend by sharing several covers from ESPN The Magazine’s former “Body Issue.”
The annual edition featured professional athletes posing nude or partially nude and presented itself as a celebration of athletic bodies in different shapes, sizes and disciplines.
Sweeney did not accompany the covers with a detailed statement explaining whether she considered the Novig campaign comparable to the magazine project.
Debate Focuses on Context and Representation
The controversy has generated a broader discussion about whether sexualized imagery has a different meaning when used by athletes to showcase their own bodies and achievements than when used by a commercial platform to promote its services.
Critics of the Novig campaign contend that it associates sports with Sweeney’s sexual appeal without emphasizing women’s athletic accomplishments.
Sweeney’s apparent reference to the “Body Issue,” meanwhile, highlighted previous examples of athletes voluntarily posing nude or semi-nude in sports media.
The differing responses reflect an ongoing debate over personal choice, commercial advertising and how women’s bodies are represented in sports culture.
Sweeney Has Connections to Sports Through Film
Sweeney is a two-time Emmy nominee who has also portrayed a professional athlete onscreen.
She starred in and produced “Christy,” released the previous year. The biographical film followed American professional boxer Christy Martin.
Her involvement in the project provided an earlier connection to women’s sports, although critics of the Novig campaign said its visual approach did not represent the experiences or accomplishments of female competitors.
Previous Campaign Also Sparked Debate
The Novig advertisement is not the first of Sweeney’s brand partnerships to provoke a strong reaction.
Her 2025 American Eagle campaign played on the similar sounds of the words “jeans” and “genes.”
That wordplay triggered extensive online discussion about the advertisement’s imagery and message.
The latest controversy has once again placed Sweeney at the center of a debate about gender, beauty standards and provocative advertising—this time with leading female athletes directly challenging how the campaign depicts women’s relationship with sports.
More on Entertainment
More on Sports