The backlash surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s newest business has been not possible to disregard, however the actress seems to have discovered a approach to reply with out typing a single phrase.
Days after her headline-making Novig marketing campaign sparked criticism on-line, the actress quietly shared a collection of photos that many followers interpreted as a pointed message to these questioning her choice to look nude within the advert.
Fairly than tackle the controversy immediately, Sydney Sweeney let her Instagram Stories do the speaking.
On Sunday, the “Euphoria” actress uploaded a group of photos that includes a number of the greatest names in sports activities who’ve beforehand posed nude or almost nude for journal shoots and promotional campaigns.
The athletes highlighted in her posts included Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Chicken, Megan Rapinoe, and Caroline Wozniacki.
Sweeney’s roundup wasn’t restricted to girls. She additionally featured male athletes together with Myles Garrett, Rob Gronkowski, Karl-Anthony Cities, and Jason Kelce, all of whom have participated in revealing sports-themed picture shoots through the years.
The timing of the posts instantly caught consideration as a result of they arrived simply days after criticism erupted over her new Novig commercial.
Notably, the film star by no means immediately referenced the backlash. As a substitute, she paired the Tales with one other clip from the business and promotional photos from the marketing campaign itself, permitting followers to attract their very own conclusions about what she was attempting to say.
Sweeney Says The Marketing campaign Was About Sports activities, Not Shock Worth
On the heart of the controversy is Novig’s new nationwide promoting push, which featured Sydney Sweeney as each a strategic companion and fairness holder within the firm.
As The Blast reported, the “Anybody However You” star appeared nude whereas posing with footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, hockey gear, and different athletic gear. The advert repeatedly returned to at least one message: sports activities.
“The marketing campaign was about embracing a enjoyable concept,” Sweeney mentioned in an announcement per Variety, including, “The idea is easy: minimize by means of the noise and put the main focus totally on sports activities. The marketing campaign brings that concept to life with confidence, humor and a playful edge.”
The actress drove that time house all through the advert. “Assume you recognize sports activities? Show it. Novig is simply sports activities. So that they needed to indicate simply sports activities,” Sweeney mentioned whereas posing atop a basketball hoop.
The business then moved by means of a collection of sports-themed scenes that includes soccer pads, baseball gear, hockey gear, and billiards. At one level, she joked, “You possibly can’t commerce this. I simply look good right here,” whereas stretched throughout a pool desk.
Sydney Sweeney’s Funding In Novig Helped Form The Marketing campaign
The 29-year-old’s involvement with Novig goes past showing in commercials. She additionally owns an fairness stake within the firm, making her one of the seen faces related to the platform’s rollout.
Novig launched nationwide final month below a federally regulated framework and is restricted to customers 21 and older. Not like some prediction markets that enable wagers on politics, present occasions, and different matters, Novig focuses completely on sports activities outcomes.
That distinction reportedly performed a serious function in attracting Sweeney. In line with Novig founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky, Sweeney appreciated the platform’s slim focus. Fortinsky recalled that the star expressed discomfort with prediction markets that ventured into extremely private territory.
“She mentioned, ‘I’m uncomfortable with different platforms which have markets on what shade underwear I’m going to put on,’” Fortinsky mentioned per the Daily Mail. He added that Sweeney believed, “There’s one thing clear about sports activities.”
Extra From The Blast
Sweeney’s Skill To Command Consideration Was Half Of The Technique
Whereas critics centered on the nudity, Novig’s management brazenly acknowledged that Sydney Sweeney’s means to dominate conversations was one purpose she grew to become such an necessary companion for the corporate.
Fortinsky praised the actress’s knack for producing consideration and protecting audiences engaged, one thing the corporate clearly benefited from after the business’s launch sparked widespread debate on-line.
“Sydney is nice at fascinating audiences and being the focus,” Fortinsky mentioned. The chief prompt that creating dialogue across the marketing campaign was by no means considered as a detrimental consequence. “In some sense, it forces us into the nationwide discourse,” he added.
Sydney Sweeney’s Bathwater Cleaning soap Ignited A Firestorm Earlier than Novig
If the controversy over Sweeney’s Novig marketing campaign feels acquainted, that’s as a result of the “Christy” actress discovered herself on the heart of a virtually similar controversy greater than a 12 months earlier.
Lengthy earlier than critics accused her of utilizing intercourse attraction to promote a sports activities app, Sweeney sparked a social-media frenzy when she partnered with Dr. Squatch to launch a limited-edition cleaning soap made together with her precise bathwater.
The controversy erupted on Might 29, 2025, when Sweeney and Dr. Squatch introduced “Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss.”
In a submit that shortly went viral, the actress instructed followers, “You stored asking about my bathwater after the @drsquatch advert … so we stored it.” The corporate described it as “A really actual, very limited-edition cleaning soap made with my precise bathwater.”
The cleaning soap wasn’t only a joke product. Dr. Squatch revealed that the bar contained sand, pine bark extract, and what it described as “a contact of Sydney’s actual bathwater.” Solely 5,000 bars have been produced, with 100 given away earlier than the official launch. The product bought for $8 and was launched on June 6, 2025.
Response on-line was instant and divided. Nonetheless, moderately than again away from the criticism, Sweeney totally embraced the marketing campaign.
“When your followers begin asking to your bathwater, you may both ignore it, or flip it right into a bar of Dr. Squatch cleaning soap,” she mentioned in a press launch for the product per PEOPLE. She added, “It’s bizarre in one of the best ways, and I like that we created one thing that’s not simply unforgettable, it truly smells unimaginable and delivers like each different Dr. Squatch product I like.”
What occurred subsequent solely amplified the story. The cleaning soap bought out nearly instantly, demand overwhelmed the launch, and bars started showing on resale websites for dramatically inflated costs.
