Sydney Sweeney Does It Again

September 15, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Sydney Sweeney’s Sports Betting Ad and the Feminist Backlash

The internet erupted again over Sydney Sweeney. This time, she appears in a Novic sports betting ad where she’s not wearing much, and the predictable outrage followed. But the criticism isn’t about gambling addiction or the ethics of sexualized advertising. Instead, the dominant complaint is that Sweeney is “setting women back” and making it harder for female athletes to be taken seriously. The host argues this reaction reveals more about the critics than about Sweeney herself.

The Ad and the Reaction

The ad is straightforward: Sweeney, in minimal clothing, talks about sports betting in a playful, trivial tone. It’s clearly marketed toward men, and the host acknowledges it’s “as trivial and hedonistic as the thing it’s advertising.” But the feminist backlash, which generated millions of likes across TikTok and X, focused on a different grievance. One viral post claimed Sweeney “set feminism back 100 years.” Another female athlete said the ad “reminded me why women in sports media deserve to be taken seriously.” The host points out that the ad never mentions women in sports, never trivializes female athletes, and isn’t about sports at all in any meaningful way. The outrage, she argues, is personal, not principled.

Selective Outrage and Inconsistent Standards

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What you'll learn

1 (00:05) **Sydney Sweeney's New Ad Sparks Feminist Outrage** - Amala introduces the controversy around Sydney Sweeney's sports betting ad, where she appears scantily clad, and notes this is a recurring pattern of backlash against the actress.
2 (02:38) **TikTok Backlash: "I Hate Sydney Sweeney"** - A TikTok with 1.1 million likes bluntly expresses hatred for Sydney Sweeney, setting the tone for the feminist critique.
3 (03:50) **The "Setting Women Back" Argument** - Critics claim Sydney Sweeney is undoing decades of feminist progress by doing a sexy ad for a sports betting company.
4 (04:50) **The Real Reason: Female Competition** - Amala argues the backlash stems from subconscious female competition, particularly because Sydney Sweeney is openly attractive and performs for the male gaze.
5 (06:48) **The OnlyFans Hypocrisy** - The same feminists who support OnlyFans models, porn stars, and sex workers as "liberated" turn on Sydney Sweeney because they personally dislike her.
6 (07:00) **A Female Athlete's Emotional Plea** - A TikTok with 300,000 likes features a female athlete arguing the ad is deeply harmful because it undermines the fight for respect in women's sports.
7 (08:48) **The Sports Illustrated Double Standard** - Amala points out that Marilyn Monroe and other women have posed sexually in sports contexts before, without receiving this level of outrage.

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Show Notes

Feminists are melting down over Sydney Sweeney's provocative new ad for a sports gambling company. What happened to liberation and "my body, my choice"? Let's talk about it.

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