Thousands of Instagram users are smashing the “unfollow” button on Sydney Sweeney ‘s profile after the actress was featured in and promoted a controversial sports-betting app in which she appears nude with sports equipment obscuring parts of her anatomy.
Last Wednesday, Sweeney shared the ad promoting sports-prediction market app Novig on Instagram — where it has racked up 1.1 million likes so far. In the 60-second ad, the “Euphoria” star appears fully or partially nude , posing with a variety of sports equipment like footballs, basketballs, a soccer ball and a hockey net.
Since hitting the internet, the ad has triggered a negative reaction from those who object to its sexualization of women in sports. Several women Olympic athletes have weighed in on the Sweeney ad , including Ariarne Titmus, a four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer from Australia, who wrote in a post: “I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this. … How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”
In the three days after the ad dropped, Sweeney’s Instagram followers ticked up by 50,000. But on Sunday, she lost 136,848 — and on Monday, another 68,000 have unfollowed her, according to data from social-media analytics firm Social Blade. That said, the more than 200,000 IG followers Sweeney lost in that time is a drop in the bucket, representing less than 1% of her more than 25 million followers.
Amid the backlash, on Sunday, Sweeney posted a series of photos and videos from the Novig ad on Instagram, with the caption, “it’s gamedayyy @novig #novigpartner.” Sweeney also appeared to respond to the negative commentary by posting a series of covers from the ESPN Body Issue, which features multiple naked athletes, on Instagram Stories.
Sweeney said in a statement last week about the ad: “The campaign was about embracing a fun idea. The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports. The campaign brings that idea to life with confidence, humor and a playful edge.” She has joined Novig as a strategic partner and equity holder.
In the ad, Sweeney notes that on the Novig platform there’s “no betting on wars or deaths and no politics,” such as other popular prediction markets like Polymarket and others. “Just you, your takes and sports,” she says (while posing nude with a soccer ball).
Novig launched nationwide last month under a federally regulated framework. The platform has a 21+ age requirement and combines the mechanics of modern financial exchanges with a sports-first experience.
On Instagram, Sweeney also has posted several risqué videos for her lingerie brand Syrn, which launched earlier this year. Last year, she starred in a jeans ad for American Eagle that some found controversial its over its punning tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
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