Actress Sydney Sweeney shared a series of social media photos showing her wearing a brunette wig during an afternoon at Santa Monica Pier with a friend. In the caption, she described the wig as an idea her best friend suggested. Some commenters said they had not recognized her, while another expressed approval of the brunette look.
The outing was reported amid criticism surrounding Sweeney’s advertisements for Novig, a sports-betting platform. The earlier campaign drew objections from female athletes and other critics, who said its presentation sexualized women in sports.
In the original advertisement, Sweeney appeared nearly nude while posing with sports equipment and described the platform as being “just sports.” Swimmer Ariarne Titmus called the campaign a “kick in the face” to women who have dedicated their lives to sports, according to the supplied report. Gymnast Gracie Kramer criticized its marketing as presenting women’s sports through what she called the “male gaze.” British sprinter Amy Hunt said the campaign did not accurately represent women involved in sports.
Sweeney later posted images of prominent athletes who had posed nude for ESPN’s Body Issue. The athletes named in the report were Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki. The account characterized the post as an apparent response to the criticism; it did not provide a direct statement from Sweeney explaining her intent.
On Sunday, Sweeney appeared in another Novig commercial. In that ad, she wore white underwear and used footballs to cover herself. She joked that men were making spreadsheets to bet on the color of her underwear, then referred to a hypothetical person betting a 401(k) on a war. The commercial ended with the phrase “Novig is … just sports.”
The supplied material does not include a response from Novig to the criticism, nor does it establish whether the ad campaign or Sweeney’s social media posts changed the views of the athletes who objected. The brunette-wig photos themselves were presented as a casual outing with a friend, separate from the commercial scenes described in the report.
