Sydney Sweeney’s Gambling Ad Is More Than Just a Feminist Issue

Sex, gambling, and the risks of the overlap

Sydney Sweeney is no stranger to controversy. Last year’s ‘American Eagle’ incident tarnished her reputation to an astronomical degree, whilst simultaneously perpetuating her status as one of the most culturally relevant celebrities in mainstream pop culture. After MAGA allegations and a relationship with music manager Scooter Braun, there wasn’t much more respect for her that the general public could lose - until now.

If you’ve spent any time at all on the internet this week, the term ‘just sports’ will ring a bell. Her newest venture is not only promoting gambling, but selling it through soft porn - two things which, when overlapping, lead to rising numbers of incels, misogynists and, overall, scum of the earth. But would we expect anything less from the woman who sold her own bathwater?

‘Novig’ is an American sports betting app which has risen drastically in popularity since the recent ad campaign, attracting over $125 million in trading volume during its opening week. In the ad, we see Sydney Sweeney stripped bare, using American footballs and sports equipment to strategically cover her breasts. This fails to leave much to the imagination, but if you’ve seen ‘Euphoria’, the explicit nature of this ad won’t come as a surprise.

She speaks in the same nauseating tone as in her ‘American Eagle’ ad, which only continues to pornify the nature of her career trajectory and bimbofy her as a person. Sydney Sweeney is the epitome of hotness and sex appeal. Anything she touches becomes an instant moneymaker because men love boobs. They don’t really like to listen to women however, so hearing her repeat buzzwords such as ‘sports’ and ‘trading’ is really just music to their ears.

I could list plenty of reasons as to why this advert is disappointing to female viewers. Using a conventionally attractive woman who is almost entirely naked to sell a product aimed towards a more masculine audience really does throw women and sports into two separate lanes. No female athlete has ever received as much notoriety as Sydney Sweeney has when undressed, luring in football-crazy frat guys, which perpetuates the ideology that a woman’s role in sports is to play eye candy. I don’t believe that the ad is portraying women as ‘poor’ athletes, as some people are saying. The issue is that Sydney is not acting as an athlete, but rather as an object of male desire, in order to promote something which oozes toxic masculinity.

When you think of the cheerleaders at basketball or football games, it’s a similar concept. They’re there to look pretty and exhibit their excess of femininity, in anticipation of a more ‘significant’, masculine performance. There’s something so cringe-worthy about a real-life Barbie being used to sell sports. Football, particularly, is such a staple of American culture that the only way a gambling ad could appear more Republican would be to place Sydney Sweeney at the face of the brand.

Advertising gambling is a poor choice in itself. It’s like being on the cover of Playboy - you pose solely to feed men of their addicition. Except for Sydney sweeney, she exists purely for this reason. Her career was on the rise before her apolotical views tarnished the publics perception of her, encouraging her to turn to an audience who would never betray her - men. It was becoming too easy for her to dissapoint the women who genuinely admired her work. When you look like that, it’s pretty easy to make money, no matter what people have to say about you. This isnt the first time she has promoted a product half naked. The infamous Dr Squatch collab in which she released a bath water infused soap, indused widespread debate online, for obvious reasons.

Why does she need to appeal to men and their fetishes? It’s weird, it’s gross, and it’s hardly a productive way of reclaiming her own sexuality. After years of her body being a constant topic of discussion, this was the first time she had chosen to profit from her status as a sex symbol. Some may call it strategic; others may call it empowering. But in reality, it’s just embarrassing.

With endless career opportunities and multiple Emmy nominations, there is no reason for her to cater to an audience who only care about boobs. But it’s easier than developing her craft, whilst simultaneously having men discuss your growing body in Reddit forums. If you can’t ignore them, that shouldn’t encourage you to go out of yor way to please them.

The issue with this ad is not inherently centred around Sydney Sweeney’s naked body. If anything, that’s the least shocking thing about it. Women have every right to reclaim their own sexuality and be promiscuous. Embracing her sexuality isn’t a problem - but abusing your status as a sex symbol is. It’s not sexy to tease men into gambling. When it’s estimated that around 5 million Americans are gambling at a problematic level, we don’t need Sydney Sweeney to promote it even further. Matter of fact, we don’t need anyone to promote it.

Sydney Sweeney is a public figure with no obligation to participate in projects which don’t align with her values. Choosing to lure men into a gambling addiction that ultimately impacts their partners and children is not something we should be advocating for. As a woman, why do you want your own vessel tied to something that is proven to drive male aggression?

For someone as enamoured in her own attractiveness as Sydney Sweeney, placing yourself at the forefront of a campaign for a male-centred brand would be a dream come true. Taking something which can be easily turned into a mental nightmare and using your femininity to trivialise the subject matter is not a liberating move. The advert is the equivalent of soft porn, another addiction which millions of men struggle with globally. The reason this fails to be progressive is because, when men become addicted to anything, women are always on the receiving end of it.

Sydney Sweeney isn’t the only person at fault here. There’s no ethical way to endorse gambling. ‘Novig’ are the ones to blame. Using two of the largest forms of addiction to promote one another is incredibly dangerous. And yes, this advert is promoting porn, too. A beautiful, naked woman listing buzzwords to appeal to a male audience is just taking objectification to a whole new level. Why should we, as women, have to watch a caricature of the male fantasy reach this level of mainstream appeal?

The next generation of men will only value women less if we normalise the use of a woman’s naked body to sell a product this masculine. After all, when the fun stops, their weakness is being used to torture them even more. So, who really wins?