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Sydney Sweeney engaged to Scooter Braun amid backlash over her viral sports ad?
Sydney Sweeney is reportedly engaged to Scooter Braun after more than a year of dating. The news comes amid backlash over her latest Novig advertisement
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Hollywood actor Sydney Sweeney is reportedly engaged to her boyfriend, businessman and investor Scooter Braun, after more than a year of dating. According to In Touch Weekly, an insider has claimed that the couple has taken the major step after the 29-year-old actress moved in with him last month. The couple were first linked in 2025 after being spotted together at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding.
Scrutiny over the timing
The news comes as Sweeney finds herself facing backlash over her new advertisement for sports prediction market company Novig. The ad, which was released last week, features Sweeney posing with different sports equipment while wearing little to no clothing. She is seen using or posing with equipment associated with sports including football, basketball, hockey and tennis, with the objects strategically covering parts of her body.
The campaign has been criticised by several athletes and social media users, who have questioned its portrayal of women in sport. Critics have argued that the ad sexualises Sweeney while using the imagery of sport to promote a prediction market.
What is the controversy?
The commercial has been called out by many social media users for sexualising Sweeney in order to promote a sports prediction platform, with several athletes arguing that the campaign shifts attention away from women’s sporting ability and towards their appearance.
Australian professional tennis player Priscilla Hon shared an Instagram Reel on Tuesday questioning the ad’s message. “Sydney Sweeney looks amazing, and honestly good for her. But this isn’t about her or her body,” she wrote, before arguing that sport should teach young women that their bodies are about what they can “DO”, rather than how they look.
Australian Olympic water polo silver medallist Tilly Kearns also criticised the campaign. In a social media post, she described her reaction to Sweeney’s commercial in strong terms, while highlighting the effort and dedication involved in being a professional athlete.
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus has also spoken out against the campaign. In a post on Instagram, she wrote that she was “infuriated” by the ad and questioned why the sexualisation of women’s bodies continues to be used in sports marketing. Previously, British sprinter Amy Hunt and other female athletes had also voiced their concerns over the campaign.
Sweeney's response to backlash
Instead of directly addressing the criticism, Sweeney shared a series of posts on her Instagram Stories appearing to draw comparisons with previous images of female athletes posing nude.
She posted images featuring sports stars including Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey and Sue Bird, all of whom have appeared nude in shoots or campaigns over the years. The posts appeared to highlight that Sweeney is not the first public figure to use nudity in a sports-related campaign.
The response, however, also drew criticism, with commentators arguing that comparisons with projects such as ESPN’s Body Issue overlook the different contexts in which the images were created. A Firstpost analysis also criticised Sweeney’s apparent comparison with Serena Williams’ ESPN Body Issue, describing it as an attempt to borrow credibility from professional athletes.
Meanwhile, Sweeney has defended her involvement in the Novig campaign. In an interview with Complex, she described the concept as playful and said she had been closely involved with the project. She is also a strategic partner and equity holder in Novig. The company’s CEO, Jacob Fortinsky, has said Sweeney approached Novig about the partnership and had significant creative involvement in the campaign. The controversy follows the backlash Sweeney faced over her 2025 American Eagle campaign, which also became the subject of intense debate online.
