Top female stars blast Sydney Sweeney for stripping down to sell sports betting

September 15, 2026

An advertising campaign starring American actor Sydney Sweeney has faced widespread backlash from female athletes who argue it sexualizes women in sports.

In the commercial for sports prediction market platform Novig, Sweeney appears with little or no clothing, strategically concealing parts of her body behind footballs and athletic apparel.

Numerous female competitors criticized the campaign on social media, calling it disrespectful to women.

An ad campaign featuring actor Sydney Sweeney has sparked backlash from female athletes who say it sexualizes women in sports (Novig)

“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?”

British sprinter Amy Hunt spoke directly to the actor in a post-race BBC interview on Sunday after placing fourth in the 200 meters at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary. yahoo!sports