The backlash has been seen around social media over the last week, but now it has hit the follower count.
Sydney Sweeney has lost over 200,000 Instagram followers after she was featured in a controversial sports-betting ad, appearing fully nude to promote the prediction market Novig, per Variety.
The “Euphoria” actress shared the 60-second ad on Instagram last week where she poses with various sports equipment, like footballs, basketballs and a soccer ball, to cover parts of her body.
By Wednesday morning, Sweeney’s ad post had 1.2 million likes and 2.8 million shares.
She also still holds 25.8 million followers. The 200,000 dropoff lost represents less than one percent of her followers, according to Social Blade.
Three days after the ad was released, Sweeney gained 50,000 followers on Instagram. Yet, she lost 136,848 by Sunday and another 68,000 Monday.
The ad has received a lot of backlash from those objecting to the sexualization of women in sports and also to women’s connection to sports being reduced to their physical appearance.
British sprinter Amy Hunt reacted to Sweeney’s post after finishing fourth in the 200m final at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women’s sport looks like!” Hunt said straight to the camera.
Four-time Olympic gold medal Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus also commented on the ad.
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” she wrote. “Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity. How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”
American gymnast Gracie Kramer posted on Instagram: “Idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing but this is what a woman in sports looks like.”
Sweeney seemingly heard the comments and doubled down on the situation.
Throughout the week, she posted multiple pictures of athletes posing nude for different media obligations on her Instagram story, including a series of covers from the ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue.
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky has since defended the ad and revealed how much Sweeney was involved in the direction of the ad.
“It really was Sydney who’s driving a lot of the visuals and the messaging,” he said.
The actress also reportedly approached Novig about collaborating and became an equity partner, giving her financial stake the commercial generated.
Fortinsky added Novig is “hugely supportive of women’s sports” and they “never intended to portray female sports.”
“Sydney’s an actress,” he said. “We’re a prediction market that is focused on sports, and that was the story she was communicating.”
