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Sydney Sweeney has firmly established herself as a major force in Hollywood. After her breakout role as Cassie Howard in HBO's Euphoria in 2019, she has earned two Emmy nominations, launched her production company, Fifty-Fifty Films, and helped ignite a rom-com resurgence with the success of Anyone But You. Despite her achievements, the 27-year-old actress has not been immune to body-shaming — whether it’s people obsessing over her looks or, as seen recently, criticizing her for failing to meet an unrealistic ideal.
Sweeney fits the mold of conventional Western beauty standards: she’s white, thin, blonde, and widely considered beautiful. Her mass appeal has even been labeled by writer Richard Hanania as a symbol of the supposed end of “wokeness,” whatever that may mean. Sweeney is keenly aware of how she is perceived, having once asked Saturday Night Live to make jokes about her chest and even wearing a shirt with a pointed NSFW message.
However, earlier this week, paparazzi photos of Sweeney taken outside her Florida home went viral, sparking a flood of derogatory comments about her physique, which appeared different after intense training for her latest role. One user on X (formerly Twitter) posted her photos with the caption, “All women are catfish. The question is, to what degree.” Other commenters called her “mid,” “frumpy,” “a five at best,” “dumpy,” and “very chunky.” In response, Sweeney shared an Instagram video that juxtaposed these hateful remarks with clips of her training for her role as boxer Christy Martin. Martin, whom Sweeney describes as an “incredible woman” and a “testament to resilience, strength, and hope,” survived a brutal domestic dispute where her husband nearly killed her. This isn’t the first time Sweeney has pushed back against body-shamers: in 2021, she shared an emotional video about being called “ugly” on Twitter, and in April, her representatives responded to a producer who criticized her acting and appearance.
The relentless attacks on Sweeney highlight an uncomfortable truth: no matter how closely someone aligns with idealized beauty standards, even minor deviations from these standards open them up to cruel comments. In a time when many women feel increasingly disenfranchised — due to the rollback of reproductive rights and a rise in “tradwife” culture with a hyper-focus on women’s looks — some are speaking out about the implications of Sweeney’s body-shaming for today’s society.
‘No Woman Can Win’
Zeynab Mohamed addressed the issue in her Substack Face Value, arguing that the backlash against Sweeney sparked a depressing but familiar conversation. The “catfish” accusations revealed the double standard Sweeney faces: when she looks polished on Instagram, she’s accused of being fake; when captured candidly by paparazzi, she’s criticized for being too real. Mohamed referred to this as a “double bind” that ensures “no woman can win,” pointing out that male stars don’t face the same scrutiny. “Sydney Sweeney owes no one an explanation for her body, her bikini photos, or her existence,” she concluded. “Her job is to act — not to meet arbitrary beauty standards set by strangers online.”
‘They Want Us to Fail’
Helen Coffey, another journalist, reflected on the schadenfreude some seem to take in watching women like Sweeney "fall from grace." Writing for The Independent, she pointed out that while none of the insults directed at Sweeney are accurate, they underscore a painful reality: “None of us will ever be good enough to appease men who hate women — because they want us to fail,” Coffey declared. “And when we commit the cardinal sin of being real and human, rather than simply an object to be admired … well, that’s the biggest failure of all.”
‘Very Narrow, Gendered Standard of Attractiveness’
In Salon, Nardos Hailey compared the criticism Sweeney faces to the backlash directed at other celebrities like Margot Robbie, who also embodies many of the same beauty standards. Hailey suggested that the attacks on Sweeney’s body are a way to control women and reject their autonomy, especially when they deviate from the “narrow, gendered standard of attractiveness.”
‘To Embody a Patriarchal Fantasy Is Its Own Special Hell’
While many defended Sweeney by affirming her beauty, Hayley Maitland of Vogue argued that this still contributes to a broader issue: that women’s value is often reduced to their appearance. Maitland wrote that Sweeney, despite fitting many of society’s beauty ideals, is still subject to the pressures of embodying a patriarchal fantasy, where women are “cast as sexually available at every turn and read for filth when you threaten to rupture that delusion.”
‘They’re Told Women Are the Enemy’
Writer Liz Plank, in her Airplane Mode Substack, speculated that the body shamers — mostly men — might be influenced by harmful algorithms on social media and radicalized communities like incel culture. Plank theorized that these men, disconnected from authentic relationships with women, lash out at those who don’t conform to their ideals, being “told women are the enemy.” She suggested that these men’s attempts to tear down women like Sweeney won’t fill the void in their lives but only perpetuate their own loneliness.
‘Not Realistic’
TikTok creator @ida_que noted that the intense scrutiny of Sweeney’s appearance reflects society’s unrealistic expectations due to the prevalence of heavily curated and filtered social media images. “We think that’s how people look 24/7,” she said, pointing out that the photos of celebrities like Sweeney do not reflect the reality of everyday life.
‘It Felt Like We Were Making Progress’
Amelia Montooth, another TikToker, expressed disappointment over the conversation about Sweeney’s body, comparing it to the more fatphobic era of the early 2000s. “For a brief second, it felt like we were making progress,” she said, noting the growing body diversity in media. However, she expressed concern that society was moving in the wrong direction again, particularly with the rise of “tradwife” content and an increasing focus on women’s appearance.
What Sweeney’s Body-Shaming Tells Us
As Plank noted, Sweeney will likely be “fine” — the cruel comments from anonymous online users will not derail her career or enthusiasm for her role as Christy Martin. However, the ongoing body-shaming Sweeney faces serves as a reminder of how beauty standards remain unattainable and disproportionately aimed at women, who are too often seen as objects to be evaluated rather than human beings.
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