The real-life inspiration for Sydney Sweeney’s new film, “Christy,” has posted in defense of the “Euphoria” actress, who has become the target of renewed criticism in the wake of the movie’s poor box office performance.
Christy Martin, the trailblazing queer former professional boxer whom Sweeney portrays in “Christy,” took to Instagram late Wednesday to post a photo of herself standing alongside Sweeney and to reiterate her support of the actress. “I’ve always been a fighter. My life reflected that in every way and now I fight for others,” Martin wrote.
“The past few days I have seen some people attack my friend Sydney Sweeney. Syd not only worked her ass off for this film, she worked her ass off for me. For my story. For so many others suffering in silence,” her post continued. “So I want to be clear about who Syd is. She is my friend and ally!”
Martin’s show of support comes just one day after “Batwoman” star Ruby Rose slammed Sweeney on social media, calling the actress a “cretin” and accusing her of ruining Martin’s biopic. In her Threads post, Rose revealed that she had been attached at one point to play a role in “Christy” and alluded to Sweeney’s heavily rumored conservative political leanings as being one potential reason that the final film has failed to garner much of a theatrical audience.
“The original Christy Martin script was incredible. Life changing. I was attached to play Cherry. Everyone had experience with the core material. Most of us were actually gay. It’s part of why I stayed in acting. Losing roles happens all the time,” Rose wrote. “For [Sweeney’s] PR to talk about it flopping and saying SS did it for the ‘people’. None of ‘the people’ want to see someone who hates them, parading around pretending to be us. You’re a cretin and you ruined the film. Period. Christy deserved better.”
Rose’s post, notably, came just days after “Christy” opened in U.S. theaters nationwide on Nov. 7. The David Michôd-directed film was released in 2,011 theaters but grossed only $1.3 million in its opening weekend. According to Box Office Mojo, that ranks among the worst wide-release openings of all time for a new release.
Sweeney has, of course, been at the center of a number of controversies over the past few years. In 2022, she drew the ire of social media users after she shared photos from a family party where certain guests could be seen wearing MAGA and MAGA-adjacent clothing. A year later, Sweeney commented on the controversy, telling Variety, ““There were so many misinterpretations. The people in the pictures weren’t even my family.”
Earlier this year, Sweeney also received fierce pushback for her participation in an American Eagle ad campaign that used the phrases “good genes” and “good jeans” in a way that certain social media users and cultural critics felt promoted eugenics. Sweeney garnered additional criticism for brushing aside critics’ concerns about the ad in an interview published with GQ in early November.
“I did a jean ad,” Sweeney told the outlet. When asked directly about the ad’s genetic supremacy criticisms, she responded, “I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.”
While Sweeney herself has not responded to Rose’s comments about her, she did reshare Martin’s post defending her. On Monday, Sweeney also addressed the poor box office performance of “Christy,” writing on Instagram, “I am so deeply proud of this movie.”
“We all signed on to this film with the belief that Christy’s story could save lives,” Sweeney added. “If ‘Christy’ gave even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety, then we will have succeeded. So yes I’m proud. Why? Because we don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. And ‘Christy’ has been the most impactful project of my life.”
