Sydney Sweeney is facing a fresh wave of criticism over her provocative advertising campaign for Novig, a sports prediction market. The Sydney Sweeney Novig ad features the actress appearing nude with sports equipment strategically covering her body, and it has drawn sharp backlash from social media users, female athletes, and commentators who argue it sexualizes women in sports.
Amid the controversy, Sweeney shared magazine covers featuring nude images of prominent athletes—including Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, and Sue Bird—on her Instagram Stories. Some outlets interpreted the posts as a possible response to the criticism, though Sweeney did not explicitly state that was her intention.
The episode has renewed a broader debate about advertising, sports culture, and the representation of women’s bodies in media.
The campaign, titled “Just Sports,” was released on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, to promote Novig, a sports prediction market that launched nationwide in August. Sweeney joined the company as a strategic partner and equity holder, meaning she has a financial stake in Novig beyond simply appearing as its celebrity face.
In the advertisement, Sweeney appears nude while using various sports balls and equipment to cover herself. She is shown straddling a basketball hoop, playing tennis, hockey, and golf, and posing with footballs, shoulder pads, and goalie gloves. The ad’s tagline is “Novig is just sports. So they wanted to show just sports.”
Sweeney described the concept as “a very simple and playful idea” that she had an active role in creating. “I don’t like to just put my face on something,” she told Complex.
Novig is a peer-to-peer sports prediction market that operates as a commission-free exchange, allowing users to trade against each other rather than against the house. The company raised $75 million in Series B funding in February 2026 and describes itself as “the only prediction market to maintain a 21+ age requirement.”
The criticism came quickly and from multiple directions.
Female athletes and sports professionals were among the most vocal critics. Gracie Kramer, a gymnast, shared videos of herself competing alongside a message directed at the campaign: “Idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing but this is what a woman in sports looks like.” Olympic 100-meter semifinalist Bree Masters similarly wrote, “Respectfully Sydney Sweeney… This is what women in sports really look like.”
Marissa Womack, manager of game day promotions for the Harrisburg Senators minor league baseball team, posted a TikTok video explaining her frustration. “This isn’t about me being jealous or insecure of [Sweeney],” she said. “It’s about the fact that this is already a male-dominated field where we are constantly having to prove why we belong. It’s about having passions and joy working in this industry and when the only representation is sexualization, you see less and less young women wanting to pursue this industry!”
Social media users flooded Instagram and X with criticism. One comment on Sweeney’s Instagram post read: “As a former athlete and a woman who has personally experienced sexualised comments, I’m genuinely disgusted and deeply disappointed by this campaign. We’ve spent years fighting to be seen and respected for our talent, strength, and achievements—not reduced to our bodies.”
Another user wrote: “There is 0 reason to have somebody naked just saying sports over and over again. You can make amazing ads and content without constantly having women be sexualized.”
Other comments described the ad as “disgusting,” “pathetic,” “sad,” and “inappropriate.” One TikTok user commented on a post by sports network director Sam Tirelli: “I couldn’t believe when that ad came on the tv. I had my 2 children in the living room I had to yell at them to look away from the TV. I don’t understand WHY they would need to create such a [vulgar] ad.”
The platform itself became part of the criticism. One user pointed out Instagram’s apparent inconsistency: “Love how @instagram allows for stuff like this but the moment I post something in a bikini, the post is removed.” Reports noted that Novig did not post the full provocative advertisement on its own Instagram or TikTok accounts, likely due to content guidelines, while Sweeney shared it through her personal account.
On Sunday, September 13, Sweeney posted a sponsored Instagram Stories update that caught attention.
She began with a post captioned “It’s game dayy,” featuring nude images from her Novig photoshoot. In follow-up slides, she shared clothes-free images of professional athletes from ESPN’s Body Issue, a publication that has featured athletes posing nude in a celebration of athleticism.
The athletes whose covers she shared included:
Sweeney did not include any text explaining why she chose to share the images. Her representatives did not immediately comment.
The reason for the post was not immediately clear, and Sweeney did not publicly explain whether the posts were connected to the Novig controversy.
Several interpretations are possible, but none has been confirmed by Sweeney herself:
One interpretation is that the posts were a visual response to criticism about women and athletic imagery—pointing out that ESPN’s Body Issue has a long history of featuring nude athletes in a context widely regarded as celebrating athletic achievement rather than objectifying them. By sharing these covers, Sweeney may have been drawing a comparison between her Novig campaign and established sports photography traditions.
Another interpretation is that the posts were unrelated social-media content—a sponsored Instagram Stories update that simply coincided with the controversy.
A third possibility is that the timing was deliberate but the intent was not a direct rebuttal. Sweeney may have wanted to highlight the tradition of nude athletic photography without explicitly framing it as a response to critics.
The posts were sponsored, suggesting they may have been part of a paid partnership rather than a purely personal statement. Us Weekly noted that Sweeney “didn’t publicly share the reason behind her decision to post the photographs.”
The ESPN Body Issue was an annual publication that ran from 2009 to 2019, featuring athletes posing nude in artistic photography that celebrated the human body in athletic contexts. The issue was widely regarded as a legitimate sports photography project, with athletes participating voluntarily to showcase their physiques and athletic achievements.
The athletes Sweeney shared represent a cross-section of sports: tennis (Williams, Wozniacki), soccer (Rapinoe), basketball (Bird, Towns), football (Garrett, Gronkowski, Kelce), and mixed martial arts (Rousey).
The Body Issue was discontinued in 2019, but its images remain part of sports photography history. The covers Sweeney shared were from various years of the publication’s run.
The controversy surrounding Sweeney’s Novig campaign has reignited a long-running debate about how women in sports are represented in media and advertising.
The criticism centers on the argument that using a nude actress to promote a sports product reinforces the idea that women’s bodies are the primary selling point in sports marketing—even when the product has nothing to do with women’s bodies. As one critic wrote, the ad is “exactly why women in sports aren’t taken seriously.”
Womack’s TikTok video captured this concern: “When the only representation is sexualization, you see less and less young women wanting to pursue this industry.”
The defense of Sweeney’s campaign and similar imagery often centers on agency and context. Sweeney is an adult who voluntarily participated in the campaign, helped develop the creative concept, and holds an equity stake in Novig. She has described the campaign as “playful” and “confident.”
The ESPN Body Issue covers Sweeney shared represent a different context: athletes posing nude in a project explicitly framed as celebrating athletic achievement, not selling a product. The distinction between athletic celebration and commercial sexualization is central to the debate, though where the line falls is often contested.
Nudity itself does not automatically prove sexualization. Context, intent, presentation, and audience all matter. A nude athlete on a Body Issue cover and a nude actress in a sports betting ad are not identical cultural objects, even if both feature unclothed bodies.
The argument from critics is that the Novig campaign uses a woman’s body to sell a product, that the imagery is designed primarily for a male gaze, and that it undermines efforts to have women in sports taken seriously for their athletic achievements. The fact that the product is a sports prediction market—a male-dominated gambling category—intensifies this criticism.
The argument from defenders is that Sweeney is an adult who made a conscious choice, that she had creative input and a financial stake, and that she has consistently embraced her body as part of her public persona without apology. Some fans praised the campaign as “the greatest ad in sports and sports betting history” and “hot.”
The same image can be interpreted as empowering or objectifying depending on the viewer’s framework. Neither interpretation is universally correct, and the debate reflects broader cultural disagreements about women’s bodies, agency, and the commercial use of sexuality.
A campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney attracts significantly more attention than an ordinary advertisement because of her celebrity status. Sweeney has 22.4 million Instagram followers and is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable young actresses, known for roles in Euphoria, Anyone But You, and The White Lotus.
Celebrity involvement amplifies controversy through several mechanisms:
There is no credible evidence that Novig or Sweeney deliberately created controversy for publicity. However, the campaign has certainly achieved visibility.
Sweeney’s involvement in the Novig campaign went beyond appearing in front of the camera. She is a strategic partner and equity holder in the company, meaning she has a financial interest in Novig’s success.
She told Complex that she had an active role in creating the campaign. “I don’t like to just put my face on something,” she said. “I really want to be able to get into the weeds of it with an amazing team.”
She also said she believed in Novig’s founder, Jacob Fortinsky. “Being able to be a part of watching this company grow and not just be the face of it is really important to me.”
This level of involvement distinguishes the campaign from a typical celebrity endorsement. Sweeney is not merely a hired face; she has a stake in the company’s success.
Novig is a sports prediction market that operates as a peer-to-peer exchange. Unlike traditional sportsbooks, where bettors compete against the house, Novig allows users to trade against each other.
The company describes its model as “commission-free” and “zero-vig,” meaning it does not build a margin into its prices. This structure, according to Novig, makes it more equitable than traditional sports betting platforms.
Novig launched nationwide in August 2026 after receiving designation from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a Designated Contract Market. The company raised $75 million in Series B funding in February 2026, led by Pantera Capital.
The “Just Sports” campaign was designed to emphasize that Novig focuses exclusively on sports, unlike other prediction markets that allow betting on politics, world events, or other topics.
Confirmed: Sweeney shared specific athlete magazine covers from ESPN’s Body Issue on her Instagram Stories on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
Reported: Some publications, including Us Weekly, interpreted the posts as Sweeney “seemingly” responding to the backlash. The timing—just days after the Novig ad drew criticism—suggested a possible connection.
Not confirmed: Sweeney did not explicitly say that the posts were intended as a response to the criticism. She did not caption the athlete covers with any commentary. Her representatives did not issue a statement connecting the posts to the Novig controversy.
The distinction matters. The posts could reasonably be interpreted as a response, but they could also be unrelated sponsored content. Without a direct statement from Sweeney, her intention remains unknown.
The Novig campaign was released on Wednesday, September 9. Criticism mounted over the following days. On Sunday, September 13—four days after the ad’s release—Sweeney posted the athlete covers.
The proximity of the posts to the controversy is what prompted media outlets to connect them. The athlete covers she chose—from ESPN’s Body Issue, a publication known for nude athletic photography—also seemed thematically relevant to the criticism she was facing.
However, timing alone does not establish intent. Sweeney may have had the posts planned in advance, or they may have been part of a sponsored partnership with ESPN or another entity.
Sweeney has not directly addressed the backlash to the Novig campaign. She has not posted a statement on social media or given an interview responding to the criticism.
She did issue a statement before the campaign’s release describing its concept: “The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports. The campaign brings that idea to life with confidence, humor and a playful edge.”
She has not commented on the backlash itself.
Novig has not issued a public response to the criticism. The company did not respond to The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment by the time of publication.
In its original press release announcing the campaign, Novig described it as a way to bring its “Just Sports” message to life with “confidence, humor and a playful edge.”
Company CEO Jacob Fortinsky said: “Sports fans deserve a prediction market built specifically for them. There are many places where people can engage with prediction markets across different categories. Our focus is sports, and by dedicating ourselves entirely to sports, we have built a better experience for fans. Sydney helped bring that message to life in a way that’s impossible to ignore.”
The debate over Sweeney’s Novig campaign extends beyond one actress or one advertisement. It touches on several larger issues:
Women’s representation in sports media. The criticism from female athletes and sports professionals highlights ongoing frustrations about how women are portrayed in sports-related content. When a sports product is marketed using a woman’s nude body, it can reinforce the perception that women’s value in sports is tied to their appearance rather than their athleticism.
Celebrity advertising and gambling. Sweeney’s campaign is part of a broader trend of celebrities endorsing sports betting and prediction market platforms. Yahoo News noted that Nick Jonas and Kevin Hart have appeared in DraftKings commercials, and Timothée Chalamet faced criticism for a Kalshi commercial. Research suggests celebrity endorsements can make gambling platforms more appealing, raising questions about the ethics of celebrity involvement in promoting gambling products.
Platform content moderation. The fact that Novig reportedly did not post the full ad on its own Instagram or TikTok accounts, while Sweeney shared it through her personal account, raises questions about how social media platforms enforce content rules differently for brands versus celebrities.
The tradition of nude athletic photography. Sweeney’s Instagram Stories spotlighted the ESPN Body Issue, a publication that existed for a decade and was widely regarded as legitimate sports photography. The contrast between the Body Issue’s reception and the criticism of Sweeney’s ad illustrates how context shapes whether nude imagery is seen as celebratory or exploitative.
What is the Sydney Sweeney Novig ad controversy?
Sydney Sweeney appeared nude in an advertising campaign for Novig, a sports prediction market. The ad features her posing with sports equipment covering her body. It drew backlash from critics who argued it sexualizes women in sports.
Why did Sydney Sweeney’s Novig ad receive backlash?
Critics, including female athletes and sports professionals, argued the ad undermines efforts to have women taken seriously in sports and relies on sexualized imagery to sell a product. Some also objected to the ad appearing on Instagram where minors could see it.
Did Sydney Sweeney respond to the Novig ad backlash?
Sweeney has not directly addressed the criticism. She shared ESPN Body Issue covers featuring nude athletes on her Instagram Stories on September 13, which some outlets interpreted as a possible response, but she did not explicitly say that was her intention.
What did Sydney Sweeney share on Instagram?
Sweeney posted a sponsored Instagram Stories update featuring nude images from her Novig photoshoot, followed by ESPN Body Issue covers of athletes including Serena Williams, Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Rob Gronkowski, and Jason Kelce.
What is Novig?
Novig is a sports prediction market that operates as a peer-to-peer exchange. It launched nationwide in August 2026 and is federally regulated by the CFTC. The company says it is the only prediction market with a 21+ age requirement.
Has Sydney Sweeney directly explained her Instagram posts?
No. Sweeney has not publicly stated why she shared the athlete covers or whether they were connected to the Novig backlash. Her representatives did not immediately comment.
Why are people debating the sexualization of women athletes?
The debate centers on how women in sports are represented in media and advertising. Critics argue that using nude imagery to sell sports products reinforces harmful stereotypes and undermines efforts to have women respected for their athletic achievements. Defenders point to athlete agency, artistic expression, and the tradition of sports photography like ESPN’s Body Issue.
What is the ESPN Body Issue?
The ESPN Body Issue was an annual publication that ran from 2009 to 2019, featuring athletes posing nude in artistic photography celebrating athleticism. It was widely regarded as a legitimate sports photography project, and athletes participated voluntarily.