Sydney Sweeney is opening up about being sexualized as an actress.
During an Oct. 28 appearance on SiriusXM’s “The Julia Cunningham Show,” the 28-year-old actress shared how she feels about being sexualized in the industry.
The interviewer was seemingly discussing Sweeney’s role as a pregnant nun in the 2024 horror movie “Immaculate,” saying she recalled seeing a review stating, “She’s constantly in a wet white shirt — this is ridiculous.” After reading the review, the host recalled thinking, “What movie are you watching?”
“I’ve been dealing with it since ‘Euphoria,’ so I’m kind of used to it at this point,” Sweeney explained. This prompted the host to ask if she thinks the show is the reason “that every role then became, “She’s being sexualized.”
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“Yeah. I think Cassie was just such a big pop culture character — with ‘Euphoria’ and the zeitgeist of that generation,” she said. “It was honestly the first big thing people saw me in, and I think it’s difficult for people to disassociate actors from their roles, especially a character like that.”
This inability to separate the character from the actor, she said, creates “a different kind of dynamic.”
To further drive home the point, Sweeney said even her own brothers began communicating with her “through my own memes.”
“But every character I’ve done since then has challenged the viewer’s perception of the types of roles I play — I mean, ‘Reality,’ ‘Christy,’ ‘Americana,’ ‘Eden’ — all of them,” she said. “I think it’s just… there are growing pains.”
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The “Anyone But You” star appeared on the SiriusXM show alongside the cast of her latest film, “Christy,” in which she plays the real-life professional boxer, Christy Martin.
While accepting an award for her advocacy work at Variety’s Power of Women event on Oct. 29, Sweeney dedicated the award to Martin and shared that while she’s “not a fighter in the ring,” she was able to find parts of herself in Martin’s story.
“I know what it feels like to be underestimated, to have people define you before you’ve had a chance to define yourself. I know what it feels like to have to prove that you deserve to be here, to be seen, to be taken seriously,” Sweeney said.
She continued: “But every one of us has our own fight, and Christy reminds us all that strength doesn’t look loud sometimes, and sometimes it’s just about getting back up again and again, no matter who’s watching.”
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When posing for photos at the event, Sweeney bared everything in a sheer silver dress that didn’t leave much to the imagination.
Her “Euphoria” season three co-star, Sharon Stone, supported Sweeney’s outfit choice when speaking to Variety on the red carpet, saying, “It’s OK to use what mama gave you.”
“It’s hard to be hot, and I think we all know that. It’s really OK to use every bit of hotness you have — right here, right now — and go for whatever that is,” Stone said. “Everybody has their own certain kind of hotness, their own certain thing, and you’re supposed to go for that. Because who are you not to be beautiful? You know, who you are isn’t an accident.”
