The story

Actress Sydney Sweeney appeared mostly nude in a one-minute ad for sports betting app Novig that was released online on September 9. In the ad, she is shown covered only by sports equipment such as footballs, basketballs, and tennis rackets while saying "No betting on wars or deaths and no politics. Just you, your takes and sports." Sweeney is a strategic partner and equity holder in Novig, which focuses only on sports prediction markets.

The ad drew strong criticism from female athletes including Australian Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ariarne Titmus, who called it "a kick in the face" to female athletes, and British sprinter Amy Hunt, who said after finishing fourth in the 200 meters at the Ultimate Championship in Budapest that "this is what women in sport look like." Former American gymnast Gracie Kramer posted a video montage with the caption "idk what Sydney Sweeney was doing, but this is what a woman in sports looks like," inspiring others to do the same. Australian world champion boxer Skye Nicolson argued there is "a vast difference between looking sexy because you do sport compared to using sex to sell sport."

Sweeney responded on Instagram by sharing images of nude athletes from ESPN's Body Issue, including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, and Rob Gronkowski. The controversy may be strategic, according to Joshua Lewis, a marketing professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, who said Novig "is a company with not much market share, and so polarizing people is a reasonable strategy." Novig's social media mentions spiked more than ninefold after the campaign was released, according to data firm Peak Metrics.