Tim Dillon Defends Sydney Sweeney Ad Amidst Criticism

Comedian Tim Dillon has fiercely defended actress Sydney Sweeney against criticism of her nearly nude advertisement for the sports prediction market company Novig. The ad, which featured Sweeney with strategically placed sports equipment, drew fire from several female athletes who stated they did not want to be hyper-sexualized.

Dillon addressed the controversy on his podcast, questioning the basis of the athletes' objections. "What is Sydney Sweeney going to do? You want her to gain weight and be some fat rugby player? She's taking her t--s out and you should be happy about it," he stated.

Among those who denounced the ad were Australian Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ariarne Titmus, British sprinter Amy Hunt, and former American gymnast Gracie Kramer. Dillon specifically called out Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer, who told CNN that the campaign was "very damaging, especially for young females getting into sport, for females in sport, for females in general, just hypersexualized content."

"No one is valuing female athletes for what they look like," Dillon argued. He suggested that the criticism was misplaced, asserting, "No one's sexualizing you. How insane is that? Sydney Sweeney's hot is part of her appeal. She's also a very good actress, but she's hot. That's part of why they do an ad with her and they know it gets controversy."

Dillon predicted that the controversy would likely lead to more companies seeking to feature Sweeney in their advertising. He noted that previous campaigns, such as her ads for Guess, also generated criticism. "By the way, Sydney Sweeney's going to be the hottest commodity for a corporate company now because you know that you can get a controversial ad with Sydney Sweeney for almost anything," he said.

Sweeney herself appeared to address the criticism by sharing images of ESPN magazine covers featuring nude athletes, including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, and Caroline Wozniacki.

Craig Carton, host of "The Craig Carton Show," also defended Sweeney, dismissing the backlash as a sign of irrationality. "The world’s going crazy when it comes to the photographs of Sydney Sweeney. ‘Oh, we’re sexualizing women. It’s not right. It’s setting the women’s movement back 100 years.’ No, you’re just ugly. That’s what that is."

Carton further differentiated between those who supported Sweeney's ad and those he deemed as holding extreme views, referencing the case of Lindsay Clancy. "Consider for a moment that the non-crazy side loves those pictures of Sydney Sweeney," he remarked. "Crazy people hate Sydney Sweeney. Crazy people love Clancy. Non-crazy people love Sydney Sweeney. Non-crazy people think Clancy should be behind bars for the rest of her life."