WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Tim Dillon blasted critics of Sydney Sweeney’s provocative Novig campaign after several female athletes denounced its sexualized imagery.
- Dillon rejected claims that Sweeney’s advertisement would cause people to sexualize female athletes.
- Sweeney highlighted ESPN magazine covers featuring nude athletes amid the criticism.
- Craig Carton also defended Sweeney and mocked claims that the campaign damaged the women’s movement.
Comedian Tim Dillon blasted critics of Sydney Sweeney’s provocative Novig advertisement after female athletes argued that the campaign promoted sexualized imagery, as reported by Fox News.
The actress appeared mostly nude in multiple shots, with strategically placed sports equipment covering her body.
The campaign drew objections from Australian Olympic gold medalist swimmer Ariarne Titmus, British sprinter Amy Hunt and former American gymnast Gracie Kramer.
![Novig CEO Breaks Silence on Sydney Sweeney Ad Campaign Firestorm [WATCH] Novig CEO Breaks Silence on Sydney Sweeney Ad Campaign Firestorm [WATCH]](https://www.boredtrashpanda.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026.04.21-02.27-boredtrashpanda-69e7893ac9fde-1024x576.jpg)
Each was among the female athletes who denounced the advertisement.
Dillon sharply questioned the backlash during his podcast, arguing that Sweeney’s appearance was central to the campaign.
He also rejected complaints that the imagery could affect how people view female athletes.
"It's nice to look at. What are these female athletes upset about?" Dillon said.
"What is Sydney Sweeney going to do? You want her to gain weight and be some fat rugby player? She's taking her t--s out and you should be happy about it."
Australian surfer Felicity Palmateer told CNN that the campaign was "very damaging, especially for young females getting into sport, for females in sport, for females in general, just hypersexualized content."
Dillon singled out Palmateer’s criticism while defending the actress.
"No one is valuing female athletes for what they look like," Dillon said. His response directly challenged the suggestion that Sweeney’s campaign would encourage broader sexualization of women in sports.
He continued, "Female athletes are great, and we love them, and we respect them, and they're important, but no one thinks because Sydney Sweeney, a hot actress, put her tits with a football, that everyone is sexualizing female athletes now."
Dillon said Sweeney’s looks were an obvious part of her public appeal and the reason companies would feature her in attention-grabbing campaigns.
He also argued that the controversy surrounding her advertisements only makes her more desirable to corporate advertisers.
"No one's sexualizing you. How insane is that? Sydney Sweeney's hot is part of her appeal. She's also a very good actress, but she's hot. That's part of why they do an ad with her, and they know it gets controversy."
Dillon predicted that more companies would pursue advertisements with Sweeney because seemingly every campaign involving the actress generates another uproar.
He pointed to her work for American Eagle, which stirred controversy over its "good jeans" tagline.
"By the way, Sydney Sweeney's going to be the hottest commodity for a corporate company now because you know that you can get a controversial ad with Sydney Sweeney for almost anything. You know what I mean?" Dillon said.
He continued, "You just put Sydney Sweeney's tits in something, and because she has blonde hair and she's, quote, whatever MAGA-coded or whatever, people are just going to lose their minds, and it becomes this cultural firestorm."
Sweeney seemingly responded to the criticism by highlighting ESPN magazine covers that showed nude athletes.
The athletes featured on those covers included Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki.
OutKick’s Craig Carton also defended Sweeney during "The Craig Carton Show" earlier in the week. Carton mocked claims that the photographs sexualized women or damaged the women’s movement.
"The world’s going crazy when it comes to the photographs of Sydney Sweeney. ‘Oh, we’re sexualizing women. It’s not right. It’s setting the women’s movement back 100 years.’ No, you’re just ugly. That’s what that is."
Carton divided the public reaction into what he called crazy and not crazy groups. He said the group he considered not crazy loved the pictures of Sweeney, while the other group hated the actress.
"I’m gonna separate people into two groups, OK? There’s going to be here on the left side, crazy people. We’re gonna call you ‘crazy.’ On the other side, I’m just gonna refer to you as not crazy," he said.
Both Dillon and Carton treated the outrage as absurd, dismissing the idea that Sweeney’s provocative campaign represented a sweeping threat to female athletes.
Dillon maintained that Sweeney was chosen because she is attractive, talented, and capable of generating controversy around an advertisement.
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