Several surfers have added their voices to the chorus of female athletes criticizing a viral ad featuring Sydney Sweeney. Last week, Felicity Palmateer led the charge with an Instagram post decrying the actress’ appearance, with Bethany Hamilton following up with a similar post days later.
For those living under a rock, the controversy began last week as the result of an advertisement for the sports betting site Novig. In it, Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney makes an appearance while covered only by various pieces of sports equipment. Though the advertisement obviously capitalizes on the striking image of the popular actress mostly in the nude, the spot also attempts to differentiate the site from popular prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. “No betting on wars, or deaths, and no politics,” says Sweeney to the camera, “Just you, your takes and sports.”
The provocative advertisement not only racked up 2.3-million views on YouTube, but also succeeded in stirring up attention online. Many decried the spot as an affront to women’s athletics, including a host of female athletes who made social media posts presenting their own accounts of what women in sports look like. Among those voices were several surfers, such as Felicity Palmateer, who wrote, “IDK what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what a women [sic] in sports looks like,” alongside an Instagram video with a montage of herself training and surfing.
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A few days later, Bethany Hamilton joined the fray with a carousel featuring photos of herself surfing – including one shot of her riding a wave while seven months pregnant. “Im not waste my time [sic] with any statements here orrr [sic] bring any attention to any individuals out there but… I just wanted to highlight what a woman in sport looks like,” she wrote.
This is the second time an advertisement starring Sweeney has led to backlash. Last year, the actress starred in an American Eagle ad, entitled “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” which traded on the double-entendre of “jeans” and “genes.” Some online claimed that the video promoted eugenics or white supremacy, by implying that Sweeney’s blond hair and blue-eyes are somehow superior (though the extent to which there even was a controversy at all is up for debate).
