Sydney Sweeney under fire from athletes over nude sports-prediction ad cnn.com Athletes criticise Sydney Sweeney's naked sports betting ad campaign Sky News Sydney Sweeney responds to Novig ad controversy without using a...
US actress Sydney Sweeney is pictured in one of the least revealing images from the Novig campaign.
Female athletes have reacted with anger and incredulity to a "hypersexualized" advertising campaign featuring a nude or minimally clad Sydney Sweeney posing with sports equipment.
The campaign, for US sports-prediction market Novig, is "very damaging" for female athletes and young girls looking to get into sport, Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer told CNN in an interview Monday.
Athletes hit back at sports betting ad featuring Sydney Sweeney
A new sports betting ad, where Sydney Sweeney wears little to no clothing while posing with sports gear, has gone viral. Olympians and other athletes are now calling the ad out, saying it sexualizes and sets back women's sports.
In a series of photos and videos released Wednesday, Sweeney can be seen naked or scantily clad, holding American footballs, a tennis racket or a baseball bat. In one shot, she lies naked on top of a basketball.
Novig also posted an ad on its Instagram reels, which has racked up 37 million views in four days.
Palmateer was one of many female athletes to criticize the campaign.
"Just absolute utter disbelief, incredibly disappointing, like, how far you can put women's sports backwards in the space of a 42-second commercial," she said to CNN, adding that the campaign "is very damaging, especially for young females getting into sport, for females in sport, for females in general, just hypersexualized content."
"We want to be valued for what we can do, not what we look like," Palmateer added.
Australian four-time Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus posted a response to the campaign on her Instagram stories.
"I can't describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this," Titmus wrote.
"Not only is this a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is - teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity … the list goes on."
Australian swimmer Lani Pallister was another of the athletes to hit back, posting a compilation video of her training and competing, with an overlay that reads: "Don't know what Sydney thinks sport looks like, but THIS is what sport looks like."
Fellow Australian, boxer Skye Nicholson, posted a similar video in response to the ad.
"Giving the ad campaign exactly what they wanted, but honestly these companies need to do better 🙄 Stop sexualising women in #sport ," reads the caption.
People walk past an American Eagle Outfitters retail store featuring an ad with actress Sydney Sweeney in New York on August 4, 2025.
American Eagle stock surges 25% after Sydney Sweeney's 'good jeans' ad campaign boosts brand
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