"Insult to Women’s Sports" vs. "It’s Just an Advertisement": Sydney Sweeney’s Provocative Display Sparks Controversy

[Financial News] American actress Sydney Sweeney has become embroiled in controversy over the sexual objectification of women’s sports after making a provocative appearance in a recent advertisement for sports-betting platform Novig. As active female athletes strongly protested, former world boxing champion Ebanie Bridges publicly defended Sweeney, fueling a heated debate.
According to The Associated Press (AP) and other foreign media outlets on the 16th local time, Sweeney drew criticism for promoting sports betting in a recently released Novig advertisement. The ad features provocative scenes, including Sweeney covering her breasts with a rugby ball and lying on a billiards table.

Major female athletes around the world immediately protested after the advertisement was released. They argued that the true meaning of women’s sports, for which athletes have worked hard throughout their lives, had been reduced to sexual objectification.
Australian Olympic swimming gold medalist Ariarne Titmus condemned the advertisement, saying, "How is it still acceptable to reduce women’s bodies to a means of making money?" She added, "It is like slapping every woman who has devoted her entire life to perfecting her skills in the face." British national track-and-field team member Amy Hunt also declared, "The true face of women in sports is muscle, hard work, sweat, blood and tears."

As fierce criticism continued, Ebanie Bridges, a former International Boxing Federation women’s bantamweight world champion, stepped forward to strongly defend Sweeney.
In an Instagram post, Bridges drew a distinction, saying, "Sweeney is not an athlete, and the advertisement is merely promoting gambling, not sports." She also criticized the tendency to place responsibility on Sweeney personally, stating, "People should not hate an actor simply because she took part in a brand campaign and was paid for it."
Bridges continued, "Why was there not the same outrage when transgender women tried to participate in women’s sports?" She sharply criticized what she called a double standard among those who remain silent on substantive fairness and safety issues in women’s sports while protesting only commercial advertisements.

Meanwhile, Sweeney’s Instagram following fell by approximately 200,000 in a week because of the controversy. From a commercial perspective, however, the campaign is being described as a perfect example of noise marketing.
Novig, a late entrant to the market, surpassed 40 million advertisement views in a single stroke and gained global recognition. Its ranking in the sports category of the App Store also surged from the 50s to 11th place. In particular, Sweeney is reportedly more than a mere advertising model: she is known to be a strategic partner and shareholder in Novig. As a result, analysts widely believe that the attention generated by the controversy will bring her substantial financial gains.  
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