Sophie Cunningham Responds to Sydney Sweeney's Controversial Ad
Sophie Cunningham didn’t dance around it. She’s disappointed by Sydney Sweeney’s latest ad — but she isn’t the least bit shocked.
On the Sept. 17 episode of her podcast “No Hesitation,” the Indiana Fever guard unpacked the backlash swirling around Sweeney’s campaign for the sports betting app Novig, an ad that shows the “Euphoria” star mostly nude, her body covered only by pieces of sporting equipment: two footballs, a basketball hoop, and little else.
The images have already sparked a wave of criticism from athletes across sports. Artistic gymnast Gracie Kramer and runner Mary McCarthy are among those who’ve condemned the spot, arguing that it leans on tired, hyper-sexualized tropes instead of celebrating women who actually compete.
Cunningham has been flooded with “text messages, DMs and comments” asking for her view. She gave it straight.
“I have so many takes,” she said, before zeroing in on authenticity. “First of all, like, does she even gamble on sports? It’s just so unauthentic. You know what I mean? Like, am I surprised of how she represented the brand? No. That’s what she’s made her whole career off.”
She didn’t turn it into a personal attack. In fact, she went out of her way to separate the person from the product.
“And hey, don’t get me wrong, like I like her,” Cunningham said. “Everyone knows she is beautiful. She is hot. She clearly has my chest ... And so like, I really like her. And you know what, she sticks to her guns, and she does her thing and she’s her, so like props to her.”
Then came the line in the sand.
Cunningham admitted she does “not really” like this ad in particular and told co-host Drew Hanlen she’s “not surprised” by it because that’s what Sweeney is “known for.”
The guard then widened the lens. Why, she asked, is anyone surprised this is how a gambling company chose to sell itself?
“But why are girls mad? That is literally what she does. Why is anyone mad? It is a gambling ad. Men, sports, pretty much naked women – like of course that’s going to draw attention,” she said. “Again, do I agree with it? Uh, morally, I think it’s kind of weird but like to each their own. Go do your thing, sis.”
Not an attack on women in sport, Cunningham says
Cunningham doesn’t see the ad as a direct shot at female athletes, even as it touches a nerve in a league and a sporting landscape where women have fought for every inch of respect.
“I don’t think the ad was coming for women in sport,” she said. What has impressed her, instead, is the response from athletes who have used the moment to show a different image of women in sports.
She’s “really loving seeing all these girls who are powerful, strong, showing young girls what it looks like to actually be an athlete,” she said.
Cunningham painted that picture clearly: women whose muscles show, whose thighs touch, whose shoulders are broad, whose height stands out in any room.
“I think it has been so cool to see girls who, you know what, they’re muscly, their thighs touch, they have broad shoulders, they might be taller than the average girl and probably the average boy, but you know what, I think that’s what it is. Like, you gotta embrace your power.”
At first glance, she understands why Sweeney’s ad can feel like a slap in the face to that work — a reminder of how quickly the conversation can snap back to bodies instead of performance.
On reflection, though, Cunningham has decided to strip the ad of its power over her sport.
“It could kind of deflate women because it’s like we’ve worked so hard to get a little bit of respect around here,” she said. “But then when you really think about it, it’s like ‘Screw it, let that girl go do her thing.’ We can still, this has nothing to do with us.”
For Cunningham, that’s the bottom line: the ad can chase clicks and bets; women in sport will keep chasing wins, visibility and a different kind of spotlight.
