Here's Everything You Need To Know About Sydney Sweeney’s Novig Sports Ad Controversy
Sydney Sweeney is facing backlash over her latest advertising campaign for sports prediction platform Novig, with several female athletes accusing the campaign of sexualising women in sport.
The campaign, called ‘Just Sports’, features Sweeney in minimal clothing while using footballs, basketballs, a tennis racket and other sporting equipment to cover parts of her body.
The ad ends with Sweeney saying, “You can’t trade this, I just look good here.” It has since gone viral on social media.
The criticism has come particularly from women who compete at the highest level.
Australian Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus said she was “infuriated” by the advertisement and questioned why a woman’s body continues to be used to attract attention in sports.
British sprinter Amy Hunt also criticised the campaign after competing at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, pointing instead to the physical reality of women’s sport, including training, sweat, injuries and the demands of competition.
Former gymnast Gracie Kramer also joined the response by sharing footage of herself competing with the message, “This is what a woman in sport looks like.” The post was widely shared, with other athletes following the same approach and posting images and videos from their own sporting careers.
Olympic cycling champion Sophie Capewell also questioned why sexualised images continue to be such a dominant way of presenting women in sport. Other athletes, including professional cyclists and surfers, have raised similar concerns about the message such advertising could send to young women entering sport.
The controversy is not simply about whether women can appear nude or wear revealing clothes. Female athletes who criticised the campaign have pointed to the context in which Sweeney’s image is being used.
Their argument is that women in sport have spent years trying to shift attention towards their performances and achievements, while their appearance and bodies continue to receive disproportionate attention.
Sweeney has not issued a detailed public response to the criticism.
Instead, she appeared to respond on Instagram by sharing photographs from ESPN The Magazine’s ‘Body Issue’, which featured athletes including Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Ronda Rousey and Caroline Wozniacki posing nude or semi-nude.
Male athletes have also featured in the publication’s shoots.
That comparison has become another part of the debate. The ESPN photographs were made as part of a publication centred on athletes and their bodies, while Sweeney’s images were created as advertising for Novig.
Critics say the purpose and context of the two campaigns are different.
Novig, however, has defended the campaign. CEO Jacob Fortinsky said Sweeney had approached the company about an equity partnership and was involved in developing the campaign.
He also said the company knew the advertisement would attract criticism but believed the attention would bring the relatively new platform into a much wider conversation.
Sweeney is not new to advertising controversies. In 2025, her American Eagle campaign, built around the line “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”, sparked a separate debate over its use of the words “jeans” and “genes” and the references to inherited traits.
The 29-year-old actor became widely known through Euphoria and has since appeared in films including Anyone But You and The Housemaid.
She has also moved into producing and business ventures. Her Novig association is reportedly an equity partnership rather than a conventional celebrity endorsement.
