Sydney Sweeney has cemented herself as a power player in Hollywood. Since her breakout role as Cassie Howard on HBO’s Euphoria in 2019, Sweeney has earned two Emmy nods, launched her production company, Fifty-Fifty Films, and sparked a rom-com revival with the box-office success of Anyone But You. Success, though, hasn’t immunized the 27-year-old from conversations about her body — whether that’s people gushing over her looks or, as is the case this week, shaming her for not measuring up to some made-up ideal.
By most definitions, Sweeney fits squarely within strict Western beauty standards: She’s white, thin, blonde and beautiful, so much so that her mass appeal was once declared the death of “wokeness” by the writer Richard Hanania … whatever that means. (Sweeney is only too aware of how people perceive her: She asked Saturday Night Live to make jokes about her chest, and even wore a NSFW shirt with a pointed message.)
But Sweeney’s often-celebrated figure became the topic of conversation again earlier this week, when paparazzo photos taken outside her home in Florida hit the internet, leading to a flood of negative comments about her physique, which looked a little different after intensive training for her latest project. One user on X included Sweeney’s photos alongside the caption, “All women are catfish. The question is, to what degree.” Others stated in the comments section of an article about the photos that the actress was “mid,” “frumpy,” “a five at best,” “dumpy” and “very chunky.”
In response, Sweeney shared an Instagram video featuring these hateful words — followed by videos and images of herself training proudly for her upcoming role as the boxer Christy Martin. The athlete, whom Sweeney has described as an “incredible woman” and a “testament to resilience, strength and hope,” survived after her husband, Jim Martin, apparently came close to killing her during a domestic dispute.
