If Sydney Sweeney's latest controversy, which involves her role in a new provocative ad, feels like déjà vu, there's a reason why.
The "Euphoria" actress is facing backlash over a recent ad for sports trading app Novig
, which some have criticized as offensive to female athletes. While others have defended Sweeney, this isn't the 29-year-old's first brush with a brand partnership that has sparked conversations.Last year, an ad for American Eagle jeans starring Sweeney also went viral. The ad played on the words "jeans" and "genes" being homophones, but critics bashed it for seemingly using a conventionally attractive white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes as the face of "good genes." Some accused the ad of echoing dog whistles for eugenics.
Sweeney also once sold soap mixed with her bathwater and recently had a close encounter with the law while promoting her lingerie line, SYRN.
Here's a look at Sweeney's current and past controversies. USA TODAY has reached out to Sweeney's representatives for comment.
Why is Sydney Sweeney facing controversy over a sports ad?
Sweeney's latest controversy stems from her appearance in a new ad for sports trading app Novig.
In the ad, the actress models mostly nude, except for various sports equipment covering her body. She is also seen at points in the ad covering her breasts with two footballs and sitting atop a basketball hoop naked.
"Think you know sports? Prove it," Sweeney says, soundtracked by Anderson .Paak's "Come Down." "Novig is just sports. So they wanted to show just sports."
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After its release, some female athletes accused the campaign of sexualizing their livelihoods.
Gracie Kramer, an artistic gymnast, took to Instagram on Sept. 12 with a highlight reel of her competing in gymnastics, diving, soccer, volleyball and golf, writing, "Idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what a woman in sports looks like."
Runner Mary McCarthy captioned an Instagram post with clips of herself racing: “EW WHAT A SET BACK. That Sydney Sweeney video had my jaw on the floor. We do not need to sexualize women in sport.”
Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle jeans campaign sparked backlash
A July 2025 American Eagle ad starring Sweeney also ignited heated debates.
In a video clip for the campaign, Sweeney tells cameras, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color."
"My jeans are blue," she added, clad in an all-denim outfit as the camera panned across her clothes and blue eyes.
Some critics of the ad said it glorified White genetics and echoed eugenic ideas, which have historically been used for racial violence.
Others, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and President Donald Trump, argued that the criticism was blown out of proportion, with the latter even praising the ad.
Sweeney responded to the outcrymonths later, telling People in December 2025 that she was "honestly surprised by the reaction."
"I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true," she said.
Dr. Squatch once tapped Sydney Sweeney for body wash, bathwater ads
Sweeney's foray into wild ad campaigns dates back to 2024, when she first partnered with Dr. Squatch to promote body wash.
"Let's face it, guys only want one thing," she says before pulling out bottles of the body wash.
Months later, she teamed up with Dr. Squatch again, but this time, she launched soap infused with her used bathwater.
“When your fans start asking for your bathwater, you can either ignore it, or turn it into a bar of Dr. Squatch soap,” Sweeney said in a news release at the time. “It’s weird in the best way, and I love that we created something that’s not just unforgettable, it actually smells incredible and delivers like every other Dr. Squatch product I love.”
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sydney Sweeney's new sports ad is not her first controversy
