“Undressing” the Sydney Sweeney Novig Controversy

America’s favorite big-breasted Barbie has found herself back in controversy. Actress Sydney Sweeney went nude in a recent ad for Novig, a sports betting app that she is an equity holder and partner of. The ad features Sweeney with different sports equipment such as footballs in place of a bra, basketballs, a hockey net, a tennis racket, a soccer ball, a baseball, and a golf club.

The ad received lots of backlash from women, including female athletes, as they felt it set women back and pushed the focus of sports on being hypersexual, not focusing on the sport itself. Bob Vevang, assistant professor and director of the D.K. Hardin Center for Market Research, said Novig likely chose Sweeney for the ad because her name is easily recognizable.

“She is an actress with a major pop culture presence through fashion, social media, and brand partnerships,” Vevang said. “And from a marketing standpoint, she can help a brand stand out quickly.”

And stand out they did. The ad was called out by Olympians like Ariarne Titmus, who shared her thoughts on Instagram, as well as Elmhurst athletes such as senior Mary Graves, who is on the bowling team at EU.

Graves said that when she first saw the ad she felt a little bit disappointed and shocked. She said she did not quite understand what the ad was for at first and why Sweeney was so revealing until she realized it was for a sports betting app, and she feels the ad is setting women back.

“Women have worked so hard to overcome sexualization, especially in a male-dominated field, which is sports,” Graves said. “I feel like we have made a lot of progress dominating how strong women can be as an athlete and I feel like her ad has definitely put us back and it’s kind of diminishing.”

Some find it ironic that Sweeney is in a hypersexual ad as she has said in past interviews she feels objectified. In an article from Fox from November of 2025, During an appearance on SiriusXM’s “The Julia Cunningham Show,” Sweeney shared how she feels about being sexualized in the industry.

Sweeney said in the interview she had been dealing with sexualization since the popular HBO series “Euphoria” and that it is hard for people to dissociate her characters from her. This interview did not comfort anyone or confirm she is a “girls girl” by any means after they saw the Novig ad.

A fear of some women is how the ad will affect young girls’ perception of what a woman should be. Junior Michelle Haynes said that it’s damaging to young girls and older women to see this unattainable Barbie kind of physique that women have been chasing for decades.

“It’s damaging to see a girl who has that power, who has that physique be this kind of right-wing person, ‘cause then it kind of inspires people to be like, ‘If I do these things and believe these things, men will like me,’” Haynes said.

Graves said she feels that if Sweeney was not dressed as revealing or if it was someone else in the ad, the response would have been a lot different. She said she has seen similar ads such as the Callaway ad that was scrutinized for showing domestic violence towards women in a humorous light. She referenced the fact that the ads being released in similar time frames looks bad on sports companies.

Graves believes that it is good to see women speaking out against the ad and posting videos portraying themselves as strong and determined.

“I feel like a lot of female athletes describe us as graceful and it’s more appearance based than performance based and I think it is really nice to see that female athletes are speaking out on it and trying to come together and take a more positive spin on it,” Graves said.

Vevang similarly said there are risks to using sexualized imagery to deliver a message and in this case it reinforced outdated associations between women in sports and sex appeal rather than athletic expertise and achievement.

“The key in my opinion is that good advertising improves brand outcomes without damaging trust,” Vevang said.