"Just absolute utter disbelief, incredibly disappointing, like, how far you can put women's sports backwards in the space of a 42-second commercial," Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer told CNN on Monday, calling the campaign "very damaging, especially for young females getting into sport." Her summary of the objection: "We want to be valued for what we can do, not what we look like."
"I Can't Keep My Mouth Shut"
Four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus broke her own reluctance to amplify the ad. "I wasn't going to share this as I didn't want to give this any more attention. But I can't keep my mouth shut," she posted on Instagram, per CNN affiliate 9News. "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."
Swimmer Lani Pallister answered with a training montage overlaid with "Don't know what Sydney thinks sport looks like, but THIS is what sport looks like," and boxer Skye Nicolson posted a similar video, conceding the trap in the same breath: "Giving the ad campaign exactly what they wanted, but honestly these companies need to do better. Stop sexualising women in sport."
Sweeney's Answer: The Body Issue
Sweeney appeared to respond on Sunday by posting photos from ESPN The Magazine's annual "Body Issue," the franchise that featured dozens of athletes nude or semi-nude across an 11-year run ending in 2019 — an implicit argument that sport and nudity have shared a frame before. The comparison has an obvious gap her critics were quick to feel: the Body Issue photographed athletes, about their bodies as instruments of their craft; Novig photographed an actress lying on the equipment.
It is Sweeney's second major ad controversy in two years. Her summer 2025 American Eagle campaign, with its "genes are passed down from parents to offspring" copy, drew accusations from some critics of promoting eugenics, criticism she never apologized for. Asked by GQ in November if she wanted to set the record straight, she delivered the now-viral line: "I think that when I have an issue I want to speak about, people will hear." That silence-as-strategy is being tested again: CNN has contacted her representatives and Novig for comment, and as of Monday neither had responded. For the entertainment industry's most reliably controversial pitchwoman, the pattern is now the brand.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Sydney Sweeney Novig ad controversy?
- A campaign for the sports-prediction market Novig, released Wednesday, features Sweeney nude or minimally clad posing with sports equipment. Female athletes have called it hypersexualized and damaging to women's sport. The Instagram reel drew 37 million views in four days.
- Which athletes have criticized the campaign?
- Surfer Felicity Palmateer, four-time Olympic champion swimmer Ariarne Titmus, swimmer Lani Pallister and boxer Skye Nicolson, among others, mostly Australian athletes posting on Instagram.
- How did Sydney Sweeney respond?
- Indirectly: she posted photos from ESPN's discontinued "Body Issue," which featured nude and semi-nude athletes for 11 years, an apparent defense of mixing sport and nudity. Neither she nor Novig has commented directly.
- Has Sweeney faced ad controversy before?
- Yes. Her 2025 American Eagle "good jeans" campaign was accused by some of promoting eugenics. She declined to apologize, saying "when I have an issue I want to speak about, people will hear."
