Sydney Sweeney hit by another huge backlash as her naked betting advert is criticised for 'sexualising women's sport' and branded 'a kick in the face' by Olympic athletes

Olympic athletes have led the cricitism of Sydney Sweeney after the actress was accused of sexualising women's sport by posing naked in a new betting advert. 

Sweeney, 29, has split opinion after appearing nude – while using various pieces of sports equipment to cover herself – in a commercial for betting platform Novig.

The provocative advert has dominated headlines and drawn criticism from a range of athletes.

Four-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ariarne Titmus is one of the major names in sport to comment on the advert, writing on Instagram:  'I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this.'

'Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every women who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellent, unity.'

'How do we live in a world where monetising a women’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?'

American gymnast Gracie Kramer started a viral trend when she posted her reponse under the line 'this is what a woman in sport looks like', prompting a flurry of replies from the likes of Australian Olympic swimmer Lani Pallister.

Kramer’s post has been liked nearly a million times, including by American diver Kassidy Cook. 'This [applause emoji]' the Olympic silver medalist commented on Kramer’s post. 

Fellow Australian Olympian Matilda Kearns shared a video montage featuring clips of the Australian national women's water polo team training and competing alongside the words: 'I absolutely f**king hate Sydney Sweeney's new sports ad.'

In the caption, the water polo player raged: 'Like what are we doing… so much worse than I imagined too. Here's some real women's sports content,' adding a medal emoji.

Skye Nicolson said the backlash was about making a 'mockery' of women in sport. “There’s a big difference between looking "sexy" because you do sport compared to using sex to sell "sport’",' the Australian World champion boxer wrote on Instagram.

'There is nothing wrong with looking good and doing sport and there’s nothing wrong with embracing your femininity while also being a badass athlete.'    

British sprinter Amy Hunt used her post-race interview at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship to criticise the American Euphoria star. 

After finishing fourth in her 200m race, Hunt said: 'It was incredible to be part of such an incredible race. Sydney Sweeney, this is what women's sport looks like!'

The 24-year-old – who has previously called herself 'sexy and aggressive' – shot looks straight down the camera as if to address Sweeney directly. 

'Hard work, sweat, blood, tears,' Hunt continued. 'This is a beautiful evening.' 

'Hey Sydney Sweeney, this is women in sports btw,' said ex-Olympic runner Hannah Williams as she shared a clip of sprinters. 

'The ad is such a disgrace for woman in sports btw constantly trying to be respected in a male dominated field.'

'The sexualisation of women in sport (and in life) is an ongoing issue that most (if not, all) women face,' said Olympic weightlifting coach Danielle Bagacay.

'This issue disproportionately focuses on physical appearance and, instead, overshadows our achievements, hard work and ability to reach athletic goals.

'My purpose and mission as a coach is to focus on improving my athletes' ability, capacity and capability to reach their strength and performance goals.

'Less about the number on the scales or how they look, and more about feel and empowerment.

'I hope whatever Sydney Sweeney is trying to portray will be overshadowed by other women speaking/posting against the brand campaign.'

'Congratulations Sydney Sweeney, you've just rattled every woman in sport,' wrote fitness influencer Angela Everington.

'45 per cent of teenage girls say they don't feel they have the 'right body shape' for sport.

'A study of women found 70 per cent had seen girls drop out of sport because of sports kit or body-image concerns.

'I'm sure your marketing would have performed just as well if you used your platform to share what the body can do rather than sexualise it.'

Other people have aired their support for Sweeney, with one writing on Kearns' post: 'Easy to hate someone you are also jealous of.' 

Another said: 'It still brought attention to women's sports... stop being such haters to another woman. Full stop. The end.'

'Why all the hate? What ever happened to women supporting women? She didn't kill her kids or anything,' someone else wrote.

The criticism comes after Novig founder and CEO Jacob Fortinsky revealed that Sweeney herself decided to appear nude in the campaign for an unexpected reason.

Sweeney was reportedly drawn to the platform because it focuses strictly on sports predictions, while other platforms allow users to make predictions on a broader range of topics.

'She said, "I'm uncomfortable with other platforms that have markets on what colour underwear I'm going to wear",' Fortinsky recalled in an interview with Front Office Sports.

'There's something clean about sports,' she reportedly said.

Sweeney holds an equity stake in Novig, making it unsurprising that she was willing to generate another talking point by appearing nude for the campaign.

'Sydney is great at captivating audiences and being the center of attention,' Fortinsky said.

'In some sense, it forces us into the national discourse,' he added.

Sweeney has since hit back at critics of her new ad, sharing a series of Instagram Stories that highlight celebrities who have posed nude.

The actress took to the platform on ‘gamedayyy’ to share another clip of her commercial for Novig that was released last Wednesday.

She posted the video alongside a selection of promotional photos that show her in the buff or nearly-nude.

Meanwhile on her Stories, the star to poked fun at social media users who have complained.

Sweeney posted photos of Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki showing off skin for magazines.

She also pointed out men who have stripped down in the name of sports.

It's not the first time a Sweeney commerical campaign has sparked fierce backlash. 

Last year she starred in a controversial American Eagle jeans advert which some deemed racist due to a pun linking 'jeans' and 'genes'.

The label's autumn advertising rollout, centered around the actress, had the tagline, 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.'

'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour... my genes are blue,' Sweeney said an accompanying video.

In the fallout, critics of the ad campaign said it promoted racial dog whistling, while President Donald Trump showed his support for the actress and the brand.

Sweeney told GQ earlier this month that she found it 'surreal' that the scandal grew so big as to attract attention from the White House.

'I did a jean ad, ' Sweeney told the outlet. 'I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans.'

She added, 'All I wear are jeans. I'm literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life.' 

Critics accused the brand of echoing eugenicist language around 'good genes' and 'genetic superiority', claiming it appealed to right-wing and white-nationalist groups online.

Others accused it of over-sexualising the actress and pandering to the male gaze – drawing comparisons to Brooke Shields' infamous 1980 Calvin Klein commercial, in which a teenage Brooke declared: 'You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.'

In August, American Eagle defended the ad, insisting it 'always was about the jeans – her jeans, her story.' 

But the controversy refused to die down, especially after Trump's remarks politicised the campaign even further.

The controversy came a few years after she had posted snaps of her mother's birthday where party guests were wearing MAGA-inspired hats. 

After she said it was an 'innocent celebration' which unintentionally turned into 'an absurd political statement.' 

Sweeney has been vocal about her support for President Trump and is a proud Republican voter.