Actress Sydney Sweeney has had a challenging week, facing professional setbacks and increasing public scrutiny over her personal life and perceived political leanings. Her passion project, the boxing biopic Christy, opened to disappointing box office numbers ($1.3m) despite her physical transformation and efforts to prove herself as a serious actor.
This box office flop coincided with renewed controversy over a four-month-old American Eagle jean advertisement, which critics interpreted as promoting the "male gaze" and joking about eugenics. Sweeney's belated and seemingly flippant response to GQ didn't help, further fueling criticism.
Simultaneously, her newly public romance with music mogul Scooter Braun, known as Taylor Swift's "arch-nemesis," has generated significant online discussion, especially due to their 16-year age gap. The couple, recently photographed kissing in Central Park, appears comfortable with the publicity. Sweeney's association with Braun and her reported connection to Jeff Bezos—who is allegedly pushing for her to be the next Bond girl following her attendance at his wedding and their business deals—has linked her to major pop-culture "bad guys."
The controversies have led to a breakdown of solidarity among her Hollywood peers, with stars like Aimee Lou Wood, SZA, Christina Ricci, and Ruby Rose expressing disdain, in one case using a vomiting emoji, and criticizing her dismissiveness and alleged Republican politics. The actress, who registered as a Republican voter in tax-friendly Florida, has been eagerly adopted by right-wing figures like Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.
Despite these struggles, Sweeney has established herself as a shrewd businesswoman, producing films and chasing lucrative brand deals to support her lifestyle, even referring to box-office failures like Madame Web as "strategic business decisions." However, with four recent tentpole projects falling flat, the actress is in urgent need of a significant professional win.
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