Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Australian female athletes have weighed in on Sydney Sweeney’s provocative Novig advertisement, slamming the Euphoria star for sexualising women in sport.
Last week, the actress starred in her raunchiest ad campaign yet, sitting on top of a basketball hoop naked to promote the American sports prediction and trading app, of which she is a shareholder.
The one-minute video sees Sweeney posing seductively using various sports equipment to cover her breasts and crotch while promising app users that “Novig is just sports” and does not cover politics, wars or world events.
While Sweeney, 29, continued to post shots from the ad, Aussie athletes were left unimpressed, voicing their frustration across social media.
Retired swimming champion Ariarne Titmus didn’t want to amplify the campaign — which was filmed in Australia — but felt she could no longer stay quiet.
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” the two-time Olympic gold medallist wrote on Instagram.
“Not only is it 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.”
Titmus was angered by the fact the campaign used nudity and innuendo to sell a sports product at a time when many female athletes were still fighting to be taken seriously.
“To take the mickey like this. I thought we were genuinely moving past this bulls..t,” she wrote.
“What is this teaching the young men and women of today?
“Sydney Sweeney, do better.”
Perth’s Olympic champion swimmer Brianna Throssell joined in on the conversation by sharing an Instagram video of her training and competing in races with overlaying text reading: “Respectfully Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sports looks like”.
WA surfer Felicity Palmateer posted a surfing highlight reel with a similar mantra and later told her fans it had a “massive positive response”.
“I’m so happy to see so many people getting around it. My algorithm is now full of women in sport taking a stand and having this conversation,” she said.
One of Australia’s most accomplished distance swimmers, Lani Pallister, also posted a reel of career highlights with the text overlay: “Don’t know what Sydney thinks sport looks like, but THIS is what sports looks like.”
Australian water polo player Tilly Kearns also shared her own sports highlight reel with the text overlay: “I absolutely f..king hate Sydney Sweeney’s new sports ad.”
“Like what are we doing … so much worse than I imagined too. Here’s some real woman’s content,” she wrote in the caption.
It comes as Sweeney took to her Instagram to hit back at her critics by sharing several photos of famous athletes who have previously posed naked for the camera.
The images she shared were from past ESPN shoots and included tennis great Serena Williams, former UFC champion Ronda Rousey, basketball star Sue Bird, footballer Megan Rapinoe, tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, NFL star Myles Garrett, former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, basketball player Karl-Anthony Towns and former Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce.
In an interview with Complex, Sweeney described the campaign as “a very simple and playful idea” aimed at “really bringing the concept of ‘just sports’ to life”.
The Novig controversy is not the first time Sweeney has caused an advertising storm.
In 2025, she starred in an American Eagle campaign featuring the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”.
Critics accused the ad of playing on the homophone “genes” to subtly promote white superiority due to her blonde hair and blue eyes.
In the ad she is seen lying down zipping up her denim pants saying: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour… My jeans are blue.”
