A new 60-second advertisement for sports betting platform Novig features actress Sydney Sweeney fully clothed for roughly eight seconds, with the remainder of the spot showing her in underwear or hockey shin guards. The advertisement opens with a shot following Sweeney through a low-lit setting, before the frame tilts upward to her face and then pulls back.
When the lights rise, Sweeney is shown on screen with two footballs positioned in front of her bare chest. A subsequent shot depicts her seated atop a basketball hoop, her blonde hair her only cover, while she urges viewers to keep the platform free of political content, war-related wagers, and death-related bets, focusing instead on sport and personal predictions.
The advertisement, posted online the previous Wednesday, drew criticism that intensified over the following days, with numerous female athletes among those who voiced objections. Certain commentators argued the actress was promoting the sexualisation of women's bodies, while a number of female athletes contended that it undermined their achievements in sport. Portions of the online public characterised Sweeney as a professional comfortable with her own image and acting within the scope of her work.
On Friday, former gymnast Gracie Kramer shared a video montage on social media captioned to contrast her athletic image with that of Sydney Sweeney, prompting numerous athletes across various sports to post similar content. Kramer noted in an interview that she had spent her career navigating objectification and having her abilities overlooked in favour of her appearance, describing the experience as dehumanising. Her response video, which accumulated millions of views, prompted other female athletes across multiple sports to share their own videos.
Raquel Debono, founder of the Make America Hot Again organisation, attributed the backlash to a perceived inconsistency among those who have historically supported personal freedom of expression yet objected to Sweeney appearing in a sports advertisement. Joshua Lewis, a marketing professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, described Novig as a company with limited market share for which a polarising approach represented a viable strategy, adding that the company appeared to be calculating that its target audience would differ from those most opposed to the advertisement.
The advertisement has since accumulated more than 40 million views. Novig, a company in which Sweeney holds an equity stake, has achieved a level of name recognition comparable to competitors Kalshi and Polymarket. The firm provided no response to media enquiries, while Debono noted that, prior to four days ago, she had been entirely unfamiliar with the sports betting company in question.
The campaign comes approximately one year after Sweeney appeared in an American Eagle promotion built around a wordplay between "genes" and "jeans," a phrasing that prompted some observers to raise concerns about potential links to white supremacist ideology. The advertisement was reported to have lifted American Eagle's share price and contributed to a rise in the company's revenue, even as it drew public backlash.
Sweeney disclosed in a GQ interview that the public reaction had taken her by surprise, as she had viewed the advertisement as nothing more than a promotion for denim clothing, adding that she has a genuine fondness for jeans. She has maintained her partnership with American Eagle throughout the current year.
On Monday, sprinter Amy Hunt spoke to a television news programme following her 200-metre final, stating that the appearance of female athletes in sport speaks for itself. Sweeney, who did not respond to a request for comment, had posted material the previous day appearing to address the controversy indirectly, drawing attention to prior photo shoots in which sportswomen, among them Serena Williams and Sue Bird, had appeared unclothed for a sports media outlet.
Katie Gatti Tassin, a podcast co-host and author, outlined a recurring approach in which companies schedule photo shoots with Sweeney in ways that appear intended to spark public debate, thereby boosting exposure for those brands. Personal care brand Dr. Squatch also released a special-edition soap product, claiming it had been made using bathwater from Sweeney, alongside Novig and American Eagle.
Sweeney, who is registered with the Republican Party, also runs a lingerie label called Syrn, which she fronts as a model. The brand served as a featured sponsor of Stagecoach, a country music festival with a traditionally conservative following, during this year's event.
According to Debono, who founded the communications firm Public Affair Media, a number of Sweeney's online supporters have raised the possibility that her ties to right-leaning politics may be drawing heightened attention to her conduct. Debono framed the current cultural dynamic as a reversal of positions, with progressive movements now portrayed as restrictive on matters of sexuality, while conservative voices have begun aligning themselves around a particular vision of femininity — a development she dismissed as bewildering, questioning why it attracts such strong public attention.
