Among those leading the criticism was Great Britain track athlete Amy Hunt
How very pious.
It’s as if these female athletes occupy some high moral ground that actresses like Sydney shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near. There is a horrible stench of snobbery around their reactions. And dare I say a hint of pure jealousy, even misogyny?
They may have honed their athletic skills for years, but they need to work on their sense of humour and respect for other successful women.
Sydney has worked her guts out for her career, starting acting at the age of 11. This girl from a very working-class background deserves other women’s admiration rather than their scorn, for she’s at the top of her game aged 29, and one of the most sought-after and highest-paid actresses in the world, having appeared in hit TV shows Euphoria and The White Lotus and several films.
She’s also a sassy, skilled businesswoman who’s so sure in herself she’s happy to court controversy. Remember that American Eagle jeans campaign last year when she appeared provocatively dressed in denim as a male voice intoned: ‘Sydney Sweeney has great jeans’?
The sisterhood went into meltdown, reached for the smelling salts and, somewhat risibly, accused the actress of promoting eugenics. Yet American Eagle’s sales soared.
Now she’s at it again, proving her commercial worth, weathering the backlash and watching the money roll in. It so happens Sydney is an equity partner in Novig.
We should all salute her – and for what it’s worth, as I wrote in my Mail column last Saturday after the ad appeared, I think she looks sensational.
Isn’t all this outrage an insult not just to Sydney but all working women? Isn’t the feminist mantra ‘a woman’s right to choose’?
Of course, Sydney hasn’t taken any of this lying down – well, actually, she is lying down in a couple of the shots – and has hit back by posting pictures online of famous sportswomen including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki posing semi-naked for promo pictures.
A short Google search and you’ll find many more. Crikey, several Olympic athletes have their own OnlyFans accounts such is their modesty! Four German Olympic female stars all posed together in the nuddy for the cover of their country’s edition of Playboy.
And I haven’t even mentioned the overtly sexy ‘sportswear‘ of the Olympic beach volleyball teams.
The good news for Sydney, as she bats off this attack on her character with such panache, is that the controversy has turned Novig, hitherto an unknown brand, into a household name.
Forget all the gold medals – she’s the real winner in this storm in a 32DD cup. And I hope she’s laughing all the way to the bank.
