# Sydney Sweeney's betting ad hits a nerve

> A year after the American Eagle mess, Sweeney is selling a sports prediction app, and the sexualized pitch is drawing fire.
- Title: Sydney Sweeney's betting ad hits a nerve | Shortify
- Summary: A year after the American Eagle mess, Sweeney is selling a sports prediction app, and the sexualized pitch is drawing fire. Sweeney isn't just the face of…
- Keywords: sydney sweeney, advertising, sports betting, backlash, novig, Sydney, Sweeney's, betting, hits, nerve, The Hollywood Reporter
- Source: The Hollywood Reporter — https://hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/sydney-sweeney-sports-ad-backlash-sexualization-women-1236698224
- Author: McKinley Franklin
- Published: 2026-09-12T01:50:46+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: sydney sweeney, advertising, sports betting, backlash, novig
## Another ad, another backlash
More than a year after her American Eagle campaign blew up, Sydney Sweeney is taking heat again, this time for a sexualized spot promoting sports trading app Novig.
## She's not just the face
The Euphoria actress signed on Wednesday as a strategic partner and equity holder in Novig, not only starring in the ad but owning part of what she's selling.
## What Novig actually is
The platform launched last month and lets fans trade on sports outcomes, borrowing the mechanics of financial exchanges instead of a traditional sportsbook.

> combines the mechanics of modern financial exchanges with a sports-first experience
## The responsibility pitch
Novig calls itself the only prediction market with a 21+ age requirement, framing that as a higher bar for a category growing fast and drawing scrutiny.

> the only prediction market to maintain a 21+ age requirement
## Why critics are angry
The complaint lands on women in sports: a sexualized ad for a sports product, critics say, is exactly the reason female athletes and fans get brushed off.

> Exactly why women in sports aren't taken seriously
## A pattern, not a slip
Two campaigns, two rounds of outrage. Sweeney's marketability keeps getting built on the same lever, and the blowback keeps arriving with it.
## Key takeaway

Sweeney isn't just the face of Novig, she owns a piece of it, which makes the ad's tone a business decision rather than a one-off gig.