Sydney Sweeney defends nude ad after she’s mercilessly mocked for daring to bare all in steamy photoshoot

SYDNEY Sweeney has responded to the backlash over her sports-inspired flesh-flashing photos.

The 29-year-old model and actor hit back at critics over her latest controversial campaign – which features her posing in the nude.

The Euphoria star has been slammed by Olympic athletes for sexualising women’s sport as she posed scantily-clad for a betting advert.

Now, Sweeney has offered a cutting response to the fury surrounding the ad for Novig.

The Hollywood star – who can be seen with strategically-placed sports equipment covering her body – posted photos from ESPN’s famous body-positive shoots featuring famous athletes who have also posed naked for campaigns.

On her Instagram stories, she poked fun at her critics by posting cover stars in the nude or topless.

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Serena Williams features on the front cover of ESPN wearing nothing but a smile and some lipstick as she’s perched on the floor.

Pro wrestler Ronda Rousey appears to be naked, apart from some grappling gloves.

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe grace a cover, smiling and holding a football each as they pose in the nude.

While Caroline Wozniacki can be seen in a tennis action shot, also naked.

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She also mentioned men who have stripped off in the name of sports too, including Myles Garrett, Rob Gronkowski, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jason Kelce who are also flashing the flesh in some naked shots.

Some social media users say any anger should be aimed at Novig rather than Sydney, however the star is one of the brand’s “strategic partners and an equity holder.”

Sweeney’s wild commercial certainly achieved what they were looking for as it racked up millions of views across X and Instagram within hours.

In one shot, the ad saw her straddling a basketball hoop completely naked.

Another saw Sweeney use two footballs to cover her bare boobs, and also one to cover her crotch.

She can also be seen posing behind a tennis racket, a hockey stick and more tiny sports props in the ad for betting company Novig.

“Think you know sports? Prove it,” Sydney cooed in the commercial, hiding her naked figure behind just two footballs.

Now she’s shared a new steamy image of her balancing on a basketball and captioned the image: “It’s gamedayyy.”

Team GB star Amy Hunt took a swipe at Sydney live on TV after the Hollywood actress sparked controversy with her naked sports advert.

The British sprint sensation had just finished fourth in the 200m final at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest when she used her post-race interview to make her feelings known.

Looking straight down the camera, Hunt said: “Sydney Sweeney, this is what women’s sport looks like!”

Australian Olympic water polo star Tilly Kearns wrote on Instagram that she “absolutely f****** hate[d]” Sweeney’s new sports advert before sharing footage of athletes competing and branding it “real women’s sports content”.

Former Olympic runner Hannah Williams also joined the criticism on social media, posting footage of female sprinters and telling Sweeney: “This is women in sports btw”, while arguing female competitors already battle to be taken seriously.

This uproar follows the storm caused by American Eagle’s “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” campaign in 2025.