Several prominent female athletes argued that the advertisements sexualized women in sports and undermined years of work by female competitors seeking recognition for their athletic accomplishments. The backlash included Australian Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus and British sprinter Amy Hunt.
Titmus wrote:
“I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this.”
Hunt took aim at the campaign following a race, declaring:
“Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like.”
But USA Today columnist Ingrid Jacques noticed what she viewed as a glaring inconsistency in the outrage.
In a September 19 opinion column, Jacques pointed toward the long history of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, which has featured models, celebrities and athletes in revealing photo shoots for decades.
“Forgive me if I missed it, but I don’t recall hearing the same uproar every year when Sports Illustrated releases its swimsuit edition, a decades-old tradition that features models, actresses and, yes, even female athletes in various states of undress.”
That comparison led Jacques to a different explanation for why Sweeney seems capable of generating a national controversy simply by appearing in an advertisement.
Politics.
Sweeney Became a Political Target Without Becoming a Political Activist
Sweeney’s unusual position in America’s culture wars largely traces back to her wildly successful American Eagle campaign in 2025.
The campaign revolved around a cheeky play on “jeans” and “genes.” Critics online argued that imagery involving the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress combined with references to genetics carried racial or even eugenic undertones. American Eagle rejected that interpretation and maintained that the campaign was about denim.
Then another detail emerged.
Publicly available Florida voter records matching Sweeney’s name and birth date showed a Republican registration. Sweeney herself did not publicly turn the controversy into a partisan crusade or begin campaigning for Republican politicians.
President Donald Trump, however, happily jumped into the controversy.
“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there,” Trump wrote.
“Go get ’em Sydney.”
Trump had previously reacted to learning about her reported registration by telling reporters:
“Oh, now I love her ad. Is that right? Is Sydney Sweeney? You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans. That’s one I wouldn’t have known, but I’m glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.”
The episode transformed what began as a denim advertisement into a full-blown political and cultural battle.
Jacques Says the Pattern Is Hard to Ignore
Now that Sweeney is facing another backlash, Jacques argues that the actress’s perceived politics have become impossible to separate from the hostility directed toward her.
“It’s the overreaction to anything Sweeney touches – and the fact that it has everything to do with her being a registered Republican,” Jacques wrote.
That is Jacques’ interpretation, and critics of the Novig campaign offer a very different explanation.
Athletes who objected to the campaign have said their concern is about the sexualization of women in sports, not Sweeney’s voter registration. AP reported that several athletes framed their criticism around the difficulty female competitors have faced in being judged for athletic performance rather than appearance.
Sweeney also appeared to answer that argument without issuing a lengthy statement.
She posted images of famous athletes who previously appeared in ESPN’s “Body Issue,” including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Rob Gronkowski — seemingly highlighting the long history of athletes themselves participating in nude or semi-nude sports photography.
The Sydney Sweeney Culture War Isn’t Going Away
What makes the entire episode remarkable is how little Sweeney herself has said about partisan politics.
She hasn’t built her public brand around political activism. She didn’t launch the original American Eagle controversy by endorsing a candidate. And she hasn’t made her reported Republican registration the centerpiece of her celebrity persona.
Nevertheless, she has become a political symbol for people on both sides.
Critics see provocative campaigns that raise questions about beauty standards and the sexualization of women. Conservatives have frequently seen the reaction to Sweeney as another example of cultural institutions turning ordinary advertising into an ideological controversy.
Jacques’ column adds another wrinkle: perhaps the reaction to Sweeney cannot be understood without considering the political identity others have attached to her.
Whether that explains the Novig backlash is ultimately debatable.
What isn’t debatable is that controversy hasn’t stopped companies from putting Sweeney front and center — or audiences from paying attention.
Every attempt to turn another Sydney Sweeney advertisement into a cultural showdown appears to accomplish one thing exceptionally well:
It keeps everyone talking about Sydney Sweeney.
