Actress Sydney Sweeney has lost more than 200,000 Instagram followers over the past several days amid backlash to a nude advertising campaign for sports prediction platform Novig, according to tracking data from the analytics firm Social Blade.
Ms. Sweeney’s account initially gained roughly 50,000 followers in the three days after the ad debuted on Sept. 9, but the trend reversed sharply over the weekend. She lost 136,848 followers on Sunday and another 68,000 on Monday, Social Blade’s figures show — a decline that still amounts to less than 1% of her roughly 25.7 million followers, per Consequence.
The 60-second spot, part of a Novig campaign titled “Just Sports,” shows Ms. Sweeney posing nude or nearly nude while using footballs, basketballs, tennis rackets and other sports equipment to cover her body. Novig has described Ms. Sweeney as a strategic partner and equity holder rather than simply a paid endorser, Gulf News reported.
The campaign has drawn criticism from numerous female athletes, who argue the ad sexualizes women’s sports rather than celebrating athletic achievement. Four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Ariarne Titmus wrote on Instagram, “I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this,” Consequence noted.
British sprinter Amy Hunt made a similar point after a recent race, describing what women in sport actually look like as “muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, (and) tears,” according to Gulf News, which cited Northeastern Global News. Boxer Skye Nicolson and gymnast Gracie Kramer voiced comparable criticism, drawing a distinction between athletes embracing their own bodies and a campaign using nudity to sell a product.
Ms. Sweeney has not apologized for the campaign. She appeared to respond to critics on her Instagram Stories by posting covers from ESPN’s Body Issue, which has featured nude images of athletes including Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe. In a statement posted to Novig’s website, she said the campaign was meant to “cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports.”
Novig, a federally regulated sports prediction market, launched nationwide last month. The controversy follows Ms. Sweeney’s 2025 American Eagle campaign, which drew criticism over ad copy critics said evoked eugenics.
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