Sophie Cunningham is disappointed but "not surprised."
During a Thursday, Sept. 17, episode of Cunningham's podcast show "No Hesitation," the WNBA player gave her "take" on Sydney Sweeney's latest ad campaign for sports trading app Novig following a flurry of "text messages, DMs and comments."
Sweeney, who faced backlash for her American Eagle jeans ad, has once again come under fire for the imagery and messaging tied to yet another advertisement, this time for Novig.
From artistic gymnast Gracie Kramer to runner Mary McCarthy, various athletes have condemned the ad, in which the "Euphoria" actress appears mostly nude, sans various pieces of sporting equipment, including two footballs and a basketball hoop, used to cover her body.
"I have so many
takes, but like it's just, first of all like, does she even gamble on sports? It's just so unauthentic. You know what I mean?" Cunningham said. "Like, am I surprised of how she represented the brand? No. That's what she's made her whole career off."
"And hey, don't get me wrong, like I like her. Like, she, everyone knows she is beautiful. She is hot. She clearly has my chest ... And so like, I really like her. And you know what, she sticks to her guns, and she does her thing and she's her, so like props to her," Cunningham added.
The Indiana Fever guard, however, admitted that she herself does "not really" like that ad in particular, telling fellow co-host Drew Hanlen that she's "not surprised" because that's what Sweeney is "known for."
"But why are girls mad? That is literally what she does. Why is anyone mad? It is a gambling ad. Men, sports, pretty much naked women – like of course that's going to draw attention," Cunningham said. "Again, do I agree with it? Uh, morally, I think it's kind of weird but like to each their own. Go do your thing, sis."
Sophie Cunningham says ad was not 'coming for' women in sport
Despite the negative chatter surrounding the ad, Cunningham has found a silver lining: "... I'm really loving seeing all these girls who are powerful, strong, showing young girls what it looks like to actually be an athlete."
"I don't think the ad was coming for women in sport, but ... I think it has been so cool to see girls who, you know what, they're muscly, their thighs touch, they have broad shoulders, they might be taller than the average girl and probably the average boy, but you know what, I think that's what, that's what it is. Like, you gotta embrace your power," Cunningham said.
While Cunningham can understand why, at first glance, Sweeney's ad could be considered an offensive portrayal of female athletes, it has "nothing to do with us."
"... It (Sweeney's ad) could kind of deflate women because it's like we've worked so hard to get a little bit of respect around here, but then when you really think about it, it's like 'Screw it, let that girl go do her thing.' We can still, this has nothing to do with us," Cunningham concluded.
Contributing: Melina Khan, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sophie Cunningham says Sydney Sweeney's sports ad is 'unauthentic'
