After days of facing backlash from sports fans for her nearly nude Novig ad, Sydney Sweeney is now facing backlash from proper female athletes, calling on the actress to “do better.”
The ad spot, released last Wednesday, sees Sweeney strip down to virtually nothing, strategically covering herself with various pieces of sports equipment. Novig is a new sports trading and betting app, and in the ad, Sweeney notes that Novig is just sports: “No betting on wars or deaths and no politics,” she says, “just you, your takes and sports.”
“I don’t know wtf Sydney Sweeney was doing, but it’s 2026,” British athlete Lucy Davis wrote in a post to Instagram. “Stop sexualizing women in sport.”
“We’ve got to always think about those young girls, always,” she added in the caption.
The Novig ad criticism comes after the actress’ American Eagle jeans ad went viral last year. Many called out the phrasing of “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” as a play on “genes,” and called it a promotion of eugenics.
Meanwhile, former Australian swimming champion and four-time Olympic gold medal winner Ariarne Titmus admitted that she “can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” further calling it “a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft.”
“I thought we were genuinely moving past this bulls–t,” she wrote. “What is this teaching the young men and women of today? Sydney Sweeney, do better.”
American gymnast Gracie Kramer posted a highlight reel of herself, similar to Davis, and in her caption wrote: “It really is that deep.”
In an interview with BBC Sport, 4-time European champion runner Amy Hunt called out the ad after running a season’s best in the 200m final at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,” she said.
Sweeney herself has not publicly commented on the backlash to the ad, but did post a series of covers from the ESPN Body Issue to her Instagram story, which featured naked athletes.
In a statement on the Novig website, Sweeney said: “The campaign was about embracing a fun idea. The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports. The campaign brings that idea to life with confidence, humor and a playful edge.”
