Sydney Sweeney has experienced a significant drop in Instagram followers, losing over 200,000 after her promotional video for the betting company Novig drew accusations of sexualizing women's sports. The advertisement features the actress, 29, using sports equipment to cover herself.
Sweeney shared the commercial on Instagram last Wednesday, where it garnered 1.1 million likes. However, in the three days following its release, her follower count on the platform declined. Social media analytics firm Social Blade reported that she lost 136,848 followers by Sunday and an additional 68,000 by Monday. Despite this loss, the affected followers represent less than 1% of her over 25 million total followers.
The advert has faced widespread condemnation, particularly from female athletes. British sprinter Amy Hunt criticized the campaign after her race at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, stating, "Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like. 21.4 [seconds], muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, tears. This is a beautiful evening." Four-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Ariarne Titmus also voiced her displeasure on social media, calling the ad "a kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft" and questioning the continued practice of "monetising a women's body and sexualising women's sport."
In a statement regarding the ad, Sweeney said the campaign was based on a "fun idea" meant to "cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports" with "confidence, humor and a playful edge." Novig founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky revealed that Sweeney, who holds an equity stake in the company, had advocated for appearing nude in the campaign. He recalled Sweeney expressing discomfort with platforms that allow betting on topics beyond sports, stating she was "uncomfortable with other platforms that have markets on what colour underwear I'm going to wear."
Sweeney has publicly supported her stance by sharing Instagram Stories highlighting other female athletes, including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, and Caroline Wozniacki, who have posed nude for magazines. She also noted that some male athletes have done the same.
This is not the first time an advertising campaign involving Sweeney has generated controversy. Last year, a commercial for American Eagle jeans faced backlash, with some critics deeming it racist due to a pun involving "jeans" and "genes." The campaign's tagline, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," and accompanying video, which mentioned genes determining traits, led to accusations of promoting eugenics and appealing to far-right groups. American Eagle defended the campaign, asserting it was solely about "the jeans – her jeans, her story."