Sydney Sweeney Poses Nude in Ad for Her Sports Betting Company, Stirs Controversy

Actress Sydney Sweeney posed nude in an ad for Novig, a peer-to-peer sports gambling prediction market in which she is a stakeholder and strategic partner. Several major outlets from the left highlighted "controversy" or "backlash" the ad caused.

The Ad: The one-minute video ad features Sweeney promoting that users can gamble on "just sports" on the platform. She appears in several poses, covering parts of her body with different pieces of sporting equipment, implying sports that users can bet on. At the end of the ad, she says, "No betting on wars, or deaths. And no politics. Just you, your takes, and sports."

Controversy: Many mainstream outlets, primarily those on the left, have highlighted controversy surrounding the ad and criticism Sweeney has faced. Major outlets heavily quoted female athletes from Australia. BBC News (Center bias) included quotes from several British athletes.

Retired American gymnast Gracie Kramer and retired Australian swimmer ​​Ariarne Titmus appeared to be the most widely and prominently quoted among most mainstream outlets. Titmus called the ad "bullsh*t" and said, "How do we live in a world where monetizing a woman's body and sexualizing women's sport is still a thing?" Kramer called the ad "infuriating" and said, "I've spent my entire life competing in a sport where female athletes have been oversexualized, reduced to our bodies, and forced to fight to be taken seriously for what we can actually do." She added that it "feels like a massive step backward."

For Context: In July, the European Broadcasting Union released a new set of best practice guidelines for filming female athletes aimed at pushing back against the sexualization of female athletes, sparking widespread reactions on social media.

Pushback: AllSides did not find much outright opinion coverage of the ad, but Amy Curtis of Townhall (Right) published a pair of opinions in defense of Sweeney. In one, she criticized "the left" and The Hollywood Reporter (Lean Left) for previously pushing for the inclusion of trans women in women's sports, but now "suddenly" gaining "a newfound respect for women's sports." In another, she criticized USA Today (Lean Left) for saying Sweeney received "mixed reactions" for the ad and wrote, "Notice how it's always — only and invariably — figures who are not wholly left-wing coded who are 'controversial' or face 'mixed reactions?'"

The Other Side: Sweeney has not commented publicly, though she reportedly shared photos of female athletes Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, and Megan Rapinoe in revealing magazine spreads on her Instagram "Stories." Fox News (Right) highlighted this with its own headline and prominently in another piece of coverage, via its sports section OutKick (Lean Right), that highlighted female athlete backlash against Sweeney. The New York Post (Right) highlighted that Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky said Sweeney felt comfortable doing the ad because there's "something clean about sports." Sweeney allegedly told him, "I'm uncomfortable with other platforms that have markets on what color underwear I'm going to wear." The Athletic, the sports division of The New York Times (Lean Left), also highlighted Sweeney's sharing of photos and Fortinsky's comments, in addition to the female athletes' criticisms in its coverage.

Previously: Sweeney stirred controversy in July 2025 for an ad she did for American Eagle's blue jeans. After media reports in the following week revealed that she was a registered Republican, President Trump praised her for the ad. Months later, in November 2025, Sweeney stirred controversy, including a split among conservative media, for wearing a see-through dress to a Variety (Lean Left) event.

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