‘Euphoria’ Star’s Sydney Sweeney’s New Zealand Getaway with Scooter Braun Sparked a Backlash Nobody Saw Coming
Sydney Sweeney has never shied away from sharing glimpses of her personal life online, and her relationship with music mogul Scooter Braun has kept fans especially engaged over the past year. From red carpet appearances to birthday tributes calling him the man with the biggest heart she knows, the couple’s public romance has become a steady source of headlines.
That trend continued this past weekend, when Sweeney shared a sprawling photo and video dump documenting an adrenaline-filled getaway to Queenstown, New Zealand. Fresh off wrapping months of filming on Netflix’s live-action ‘Gundam’ movie in Australia, Sweeney used the trip as a chance to unwind alongside Braun, her costar Noah Centineo, and a wider group of friends.
The carousel captured plenty of high-energy moments, including a tandem bungee jump off a towering cliff, a helicopter ride over the region’s ski fields, snowy mountaintop golf, and even a nighttime jump over water. Sweeney captioned the post simply, jumped over to Queenstown, sharing the same content across both her main Instagram grid and her Stories.
Buried among the more crowd-pleasing content, though, was a detail that quickly became the center of unexpected controversy. Several clips and photos showed Sweeney trying her hand at target shooting, including archery in the snow and a video of her firing at a clay pigeon during the group’s outdoor excursions.
Some followers misinterpreted the footage as depicting actual live birds being hunted rather than clay targets used in standard skeet shooting. That misunderstanding sparked a wave of criticism in the comments, with animal rights sensitive fans reacting sharply, including one follower who directly asked whether Sweeney had shot a real bird, while others declared outright that they were unfollowing her over the images.
That backlash stood in sharp contrast to the overwhelmingly positive reaction most of the trip’s other content received. Fans largely praised the couple’s willingness to try daring activities together, with plenty of supportive comments flooding in under the bungee jumping footage and Braun’s own matching posts documenting the same adventure.
Sweeney and Braun first sparked dating rumors back in 2025, with the relationship reportedly deepening into something more committed by the end of that year. Their New Zealand trip added yet another public milestone to that ongoing romance, following a May Instagram debut of Braun on Sweeney’s grid and a heartfelt June birthday tribute she posted in his honor.
The getaway also gave fans a look at the couple’s playful dynamic beyond the thrill-seeking activities, including a photo of Sweeney leaning in to kiss Braun on the cheek against a mountainous backdrop. Braun himself shared a first-person, selfie-style version of their bungee jump, giving followers an immersive view of the experience directly from his own account.
Despite the online criticism surrounding the shooting-related content, neither Sweeney nor Braun has publicly addressed the backlash directly. Given how quickly online misunderstandings about hunting versus target sports tend to spread, the controversy appears rooted largely in confusion over what exactly the footage depicted rather than any actual wrongdoing.
Was the criticism toward Sydney Sweeney fair?
For a couple that has continued documenting their relationship openly across social media, this latest wave of attention shows just how closely fans are watching every detail of their public moments together, for better or worse.
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