‘Nobody 2’ Star Sharon Stone Says Sydney Sweeney Needs to ‘Take Responsibility’ Over Her Betting Ad Backlash
Celebrity brand partnerships tend to draw criticism when they touch on anything resembling gender or sports, and this year has been no exception. What started as a straightforward advertising campaign quickly spiraled into one of the more contentious pop culture conversations of the fall season.
Sydney Sweeney has found herself at the center of that storm after fronting a campaign for the sports betting platform Novig, an ad that quickly drew criticism from female athletes and cultural commentators alike. Now, one of her own co-stars is weighing in publicly on the fallout.
Sharon Stone, who starred alongside Sweeney in the third and final season of ‘Euphoria,’ says her former castmate needs to “take responsibility” for the controversial Novig campaign, while stressing that she isn’t interested in personally judging the younger actress for her choices.
Speaking with People at Variety’s 2026 Power of Women: Los Angeles event, Stone addressed the backlash directly. “I think that it’s up to her to take responsibility for her actions, not up to me to judge her for her actions. It is up to me to be a cheerleader for the women who have made it through and become champions in women’s sports,” Stone told the outlet.
She continued by framing the issue in broader terms tied to how women’s athletics get represented in advertising. “We can’t denigrate women’s sports to get men’s attention so they can gamble,” she said, positioning her comments less as a personal attack and more as a statement about industry responsibility.
The ad in question shows Sweeney posing in various provocative positions using sports equipment like footballs, goalie pads, and shoulder pads to cover herself, while telling viewers the platform lets users bet on “just sports.” The campaign quickly drew criticism from numerous female athletes, including sprinter Amy Hunt, gymnast Gracie Kramer, and Olympian Ariarne Titmus, who argued it reduced women’s sports to a marketing gimmick.
In response to the backlash, Sweeney pushed back by sharing social media posts featuring past ESPN magazine spreads showing female athletes like Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, and Caroline Wozniacki in similarly revealing shoots, suggesting the double standard being applied to her wasn’t entirely fair. Novig CEO Jacob Fotinsky also defended the campaign, stating the company remains “hugely supportive of women’s sports” and that the ad was never intended to portray female athletics specifically.
This isn’t the first time Stone has offered pointed commentary on Sweeney’s choices. In an interview with Variety published September 17, Stone revealed that during their time working together on ‘Euphoria,’ she had tried to convince Sweeney’s character to leave behind cam-girl work and join a fictional series Stone’s character was producing called ‘L.A. Nights.’ Stone noted that while her character agreed to the shift on-screen, the real-world parallel didn’t quite hold, pointing to Sweeney’s lingerie line, Syrn, as evidence that “it didn’t take.”
That earlier comment adds some context to Stone’s latest remarks, suggesting an ongoing, if good-natured, tension between how the two actresses approach image and public perception. Still, Stone has shown support for Sweeney in the past as well, previously defending her during the backlash surrounding her American Eagle campaign by telling Variety it’s “okay to use what mama gave you.”
The Novig controversy is just the latest in a string of headline-grabbing moments for Sweeney, who has become something of a lightning rod for debates around image, marketing, and female representation in recent years. From the American Eagle jeans controversy to stringing lingerie across the Hollywood sign, she’s grown accustomed to navigating public scrutiny.
Whether Sweeney responds further to Stone’s comments remains to be seen, but the exchange adds another layer to what has already become one of the more talked-about advertising controversies of the year.
What do you think of Sharon Stone’s comments about Sydney Sweeney’s Novig ad controversy?
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