Sharon Stone, who publicly defended Sydney Sweeney during the backlash to her 2025 American Eagle campaign, has taken a different position on her Euphoria co-star's latest advert. Speaking at the Power of Women event at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Wednesday, 23 September, the Basic Instinct star said Sweeney should 'take responsibility' for her role in Novig's 'Just Sports' campaign.
'I think that it's up to her to take responsibility for her actions, not up to me to judge her for her actions,' Stone said. She added that her focus was on supporting women who had become champions in sport, before saying: 'We can't denigrate women's sports to get men's attention so they can gamble.'
The comments follow criticism from female athletes over Sweeney's nearly nude Novig campaign, launched on 9 September. The Euphoria and The White Lotus star poses with sports equipment while promoting the sports prediction platform. Novig has also named Sweeney a strategic partner and equity holder, giving her a business role beyond appearing in the advert.
Stone Previously Backed Sweeney's Use of Sex Appeal
Stone's latest remarks contrast with her response when Sweeney's American Eagle campaign became a flashpoint in 2025. At Variety's Power of Women event on 29 October 2025, Stone defended the Anyone But You actress and said it was 'okay to use what mama gave you'. She also backed Sweeney, embracing her appeal, saying, 'It's hard to be hot.'
Watch here: Sharon Stone previously backed Sydney Sweeney over the American Eagle backlash.
American Eagle launched its 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' campaign on 23 July 2025, using wordplay between 'jeans' and 'genes'. Critics argued that some of the campaign's imagery and language carried troubling racial overtones, while the company said it 'is and always was about the jeans'. Stone's defence at the time centred on Sweeney's right to use her looks and public image without apologising for them.
Female Athletes Led the Novig Backlash
The Novig controversy has unfolded differently because much of the criticism has come directly from women in professional sport. British sprinter Amy Hunt addressed Sweeney after competing at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, saying, 'Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,' before pointing to the muscles, hard work, sweat, blood and tears behind elite competition.
Former US gymnast Gracie Kramer and four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus were also among athletes who criticised the campaign as sexualising women in a sporting context.
Watch here: Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus criticises Sydney Sweeney's Novig campaign over its portrayal of female athletes.
Sweeney appeared to respond to the wider backlash by sharing images from ESPN's former Body Issue featuring nude or semi-nude athletes, but she has not publicly addressed Stone's latest comments. Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky has defended the campaign, saying it was intended to promote the company's focus exclusively on sport rather than portray women's sport. Sweeney said at launch that the concept aimed to put the focus 'entirely on sports' with 'confidence, humor and a playful edge'.
Stone Draws a Line Around Women's Sport
Stone did not retract her earlier support for Sweeney's right to present herself as she chooses, and she specifically said it was not her role to judge her co-star. Her criticism instead focused on using sexualised imagery to draw attention to sport and gambling. Stone's comments therefore stop short of a complete reversal of her earlier defence of Sweeney, but mark a considerably tougher response than she gave during the American Eagle controversy.
The two actors are connected through Euphoria, with Stone joining the HBO drama for its third season while Sweeney returns as Cassie Howard. Stone, an Oscar nominee for Casino and the star of Basic Instinct, has spent decades at the centre of conversations about sexuality and female image in Hollywood. Sweeney has not announced any change to her Novig partnership.
