Sydney Sweeney has quite the talent for making an advertisement linger in the public imagination, and her latest Novig Sports campaign is no exception. After the 2025 American Eagle “great genes” campaign, Sweeney has now traded denim for footballs, tennis rackets, and basketball hoops, posing with little clothing while Olympic athletes Gracie Kramer and Amy Hunt question its treatment of women in sport.

Kramer, Hunt and the other did not exactly leave their opinions courtside, as they openly criticize Sydney Sweeney's take on women's sports.

Olympic athletes are giving Sydney Sweeney’s Novig Sports campaign anything but a victory lap, with swimmers, sprinters, gymnasts, boxers, and skiers all weighing in. Ariarne Titmus called the advertisement a “kick in the face” to women who dedicate their lives to sport, while Cassidy Gray described the campaign as “idiotic” and “senseless.”

"Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like. Muscles. Hard work, blood, sweat, tears," Amy Hunt said after her 200m final in Budapest. Gracie Kramer echoed that message with a training montage, while Skye Nicolson said the campaign made a “mockery” of women in sports. Lucy Davis also called for a different way of portraying female athletes.

The list did not stop there, with Sophie Capewell MBE, Tilly Kearns, Lisa Neumann, and Ellie Boatman also joining the conversation. Their training videos and pointed posts shifted the focus toward strength, dedication, and performance. Together, the athletes offered a very different picture of what women in sport bring to the field, track, pool, ring, and slopes.

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Sydney Sweeney may as well be following through on her playful threat to Tom Cruise, because she is already busy defending herself from athletes and the internet.

Sydney Sweeney did not exactly answer her critics with a lengthy statement. Instead, the actor took to Instagram Stories and shared images from ESPN’s famed Body Issue, spotlighting athletes including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Rob Gronkowski, and Jason Kelce who have previously posed bare for sports-focused features.

The posts appeared to offer Sweeney’s own rebuttal: if celebrated athletes can choose to bare their bodies while celebrating their physical achievements, why should her campaign be viewed differently? As a strategic partner and equity holder in Novig, Sweeney also has a financial stake in the campaign, making her response more than a celebrity cameo. Her move ultimately adds another layer to the debate over where athletic celebration ends and marketing begins.

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Do you agree with the female athletes' rebuttal of Sydney Sweeney's sports ad? Let us know in the comments!