Hollywood actress Sydney Sweeney faces backlash after appearing in a new advertising campaign for sports prediction platform Novig.
The sixty second commercial, in which Sweeney appears nude while using sports equipment to cover parts of her body has sparked debate over the way women and female athletes are portrayed.
Several female athletes have criticized the campaign, arguing that it sexualizes women and takes attention away from the hard work and dedication involved in sport.
Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, expressed her anger over the advertisement in an Instagram post.
“Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is - teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity,” she wrote.
“How do we live in a world where monetizing a woman's body and sexualizing women's sport is still a thing?”
British track and field athlete Amy Hunt also addressed the controversy after finishing fourth in the 200m event at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest on September 13.
Looking into the camera, Hunt said: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like.”
She then pointed to fellow competitor Melissa Jefferson’s winning time of 21.47 seconds, describing the achievement as the result of intense physical effort.
“21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears,” Hunt said. “When you’re a woman in sport, it’s not pretty. It’s not glamorous. It’s not sexy all the time, definitely.”
Former American gymnast Gracie Kramer also responded by sharing footage of her own training and competition.
She said female athletes are often judged by their bodies and have to work to have their sporting abilities recognized.
The controversy has also affected Sweeney’s social media following. According to data from Social Blade, she lost 136,848 Instagram followers on Sunday and another 66,446 on Monday.
However, the decline represented less than one percent of her more than 25 million followers, and she later gained more than 116,000 followers.
Sweeney appeared to respond to the criticism by sharing images of female athletes including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki, who had previously posed nude for magazine covers. She also shared similar images of male athletes.
In a statement about the campaign, 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.”
Fans are poured out their disappointment in the comments section with many heavily pointing out Sydney's bold step.