Sydney Sweeney’s latest advertising stunt appears to have come with a “small social-media” price tag.
The Euphoriastar has reportedly lost more than 200,000 Instagram followers after her Novig betting campaign showed her posing nude while using sports equipment to cover herself — a concept that critics say sexualizes women’s sports.
According to Social Blade data, Sweeney’s account initially gained around 50,000 followers after the ad dropped last Wednesday.
But by Sunday, she had lost 136,848, followed by another 68,000 on Monday.
That sounds dramatic, but the number represents less than 1% of her more than 25 million followers.
The backlash, however, has been much louder.
British sprinter Amy Hunt used a post-race interview to take aim at the campaign, saying: ‘It was incredible to be part of such an incredible race. Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like. 21.4 [seconds, the winning time of Melissa Jefferson-Wooden], muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, tears. This is a beautiful evening.’
Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus was even more blunt: ‘How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?’
Sweeney, meanwhile, defended the campaign as “a fun idea,” saying it was designed to put the focus “entirely on sports.”
And she didn’t exactly back away from the controversy. The actress later shared images of Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki posing nude for magazines.
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky also claimed Sweeney herself pushed for the nude concept.
Whether that changes anyone’s mind is another question.
2026-09-15 20:58:00
