Leading women athletes have condemned actor Sydney Sweeney (29) for appearing in various states of undress in a sports betting advert they say sexualises women’s sport.

The American star, known for her role in TV series Euphoria, posed with sports equipment in the commercial for US betting company Novig, which allows users to predict the outcome of sports matches. Sweeney has an equity stake in the firm.

Olympic champion calls advert ‘infuriating’

Four-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ariarne Titmus said the marketing tactic belonged to the past.

“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Titmus wrote on Instagram.

“Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every women who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellent, unity…”

“How do we live in a world where monetising a women’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?” the Australian added.

Athletes show what women in sport really look like

Several leading track and field athletes competing at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest last weekend expressed anger at Sweeney’s commercial, saying it misrepresented how women in sport looked.

British sprinter Amy Hunt finished fourth in the 200 metres behind US athlete Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s winning time of 21.47sec, the fourth fastest ever. In a BBC TV interview afterwards, Hunt said: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like. 21.4. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears.”

She added: “When you’re a woman in sport, it’s not pretty. It’s not glamorous. It’s not sexy all the time, definitely.”

Many athletes have posted videos of themselves, grouped around the message “this is what sport looks like”.

US gymnast Gracie Kramer captioned her post, featuring her performing gymnastic routines and training in various other sports, with the message: “idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what a woman in sport looks like.”

Previous controversy over jeans campaign

The outrage around the campaign echoes criticism provoked by American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” campaign in 2025.

The campaign attracted heavy criticism for appearing to employ the language of eugenics, with Sweeney saying in a video that has since been deleted: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.”

Sweeney later acknowledged that by failing to comment on the controversy, it had only “widened the divide”.

She added: “I was honestly surprised by the reaction. I’m against hate and divisiveness.”