Olympians Blast Sweeney's Nude Betting Ad
Olympians Blast Sweeney's Nude Betting Ad
The News
Actress Sydney Sweeney is under fire from Olympic athletes who say her nude advertisement for the sports prediction platform Novig sexualizes women's sport.
Female athletes from Britain and Australia went public with their objections over the weekend, and Sweeney hit back at critics online rather than apologize.
Nine news outlets across the political spectrum were covering the fight by Monday morning.
What the Ad Is
The commercial features Sweeney in various states of undress promoting Novig, a sports betting and prediction platform, according to The Guardian and Deadline.
Timeline
The Daily Mail reports that Australian Olympian Matilda Kearns has criticized the ad, saying it was "so much worse than I imagined."
Fox News reports that Sweeney fired back at critics by posting ESPN covers featuring naked athletes, including Serena Williams, on Instagram.
The Guardian reports that Olympic athletes, among them Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, have "come out in force" to condemn the advert.
Deadline reports the ad has infuriated female athletes, quoting one line describing it as "a kick in the face to every woman."
British sprinter Amy Hunt takes a swipe at Sweeney in a live television interview after finishing fourth in a race, per The Sun and the BBC.
Reactions
Hunt is the face of the backlash in Britain. The BBC reported she is among the female athletes criticizing the betting advert, and The Sun and Daily Mail described her on-air comments as a swipe at the actress.
Kearns, the Australian Olympian, told the Daily Mail the finished ad was "so much worse than I imagined."
The Independent reported that several high-profile female athletes called the advertisement "infuriating" and accused it of "sexualising women's sport."
Sweeney has not backed down. Fox News reported she answered the criticism by sharing ESPN magazine covers of naked athletes — Serena Williams among them — on Instagram, the implied argument being that athletes have posed nude for years.
What's Next
Novig has not publicly pulled the campaign in any of the reporting so far, and Sweeney's response suggests she intends to ride it out.
Expect more athletes to be asked about the ad in post-race and post-event interviews, which is how the story has spread all weekend.
More
The fight lands in the middle of two live American arguments: how far sportsbooks can go to sell betting, and who gets to decide when a woman's own choice to pose nude counts as exploitation. Coverage has split accordingly, with right-leaning outlets framing it as a pile-on against Sweeney and center-left outlets leading with the athletes' complaints.
Poll
Is Sydney Sweeney's nude Novig ad fair game?
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