A sports-betting advert starring American actress Sydney Sweeney has sparked backlash from prominent female athletes, who accuse the campaign of reducing women in sport to their appearance rather than celebrating their athletic ability.
The new campaign for sports-prediction company Novig features the 29-year-old actress posing nude while using sporting equipment, including a basketball, baseball bat and tennis racket, to cover herself.
The video quickly went viral online, attracting tens of millions of views within days and triggering criticism from athletes across running, swimming, cycling and rugby.
European sprint champion Amy Hunt was among those to speak out against the campaign.
After finishing fourth in the 200m at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hunt referenced the advert during an interview with BBC Sport, contrasting Sweeney’s appearance in the campaign with the physical demands of elite athletics.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” Hunt said, pointing to the winning time recorded by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. “21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears. This is a beautiful evening.”
Australian swimmer and four-time Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus also criticised the campaign in a social media post.
“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,” Titmus wrote.
“How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”
Other athletes, including Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer and British cyclist Sophie Capewell, have also criticised the advert.
The backlash has since prompted athletes and other sports users to share videos of themselves training and competing, highlighting the physical work and skill involved in elite sport.
Sweeney has not publicly addressed the criticism. However, the Euphoria actress later shared images of old magazine covers featuring female athletes posing nude or in revealing outfits, appearing to draw attention to what she viewed as a double standard in the reaction to the Novig campaign.
The controversy has reignited debate over the way women’s bodies are portrayed in advertising and whether campaigns involving female celebrities and athletes can celebrate physicality without reducing women to their appearance.