Female athletes criticize Sydney Sweeney's Novig sports ad for sexualizing women
Several prominent female athletes have condemned a recent Novig advertisement featuring Sydney Sweeney, saying it objectifies women in sport and undermines their achievements.
Sydney Sweeney's latest promotion for the sports-trading platform Novig has sparked backlash from female athletes who say the ad sexualizes women in sport. In the Instagram video, Sweeney appears nude, using basketballs, footballs and other equipment to cover herself before delivering a tagline about betting and sports.
Retired Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus posted on Instagram that the ad felt like "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." Former UCLA gymnast Gracie Kramer responded with a video showing herself participating in various sports, adding that it demonstrated "what a woman in sports looks like." She told NBC News the ensuing online trend was "incredibly empowering."
Olympic water-polo player Tilly Kearns also expressed dislike for the advertisement, while multi-sport athlete Chloe Dalton's Female Athlete Project denounced the campaign as misogynistic, criticizing both Novig and Sweeney for the portrayal.