The actress claimed that the optics of women supporting other women in the industry doesn’t always ring true behind the scenes, where allegiance is harder to find
Sydney Sweeney is calling BS on Hollywood pushing the message of women supporting women. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the actress pulled back the curtain on her experience behind the scenes, where real allegiances are harder to find than expected.
“This entire industry, all people say is ‘Women empowering other women,’” Sweeney said. “None of it’s happening. All of it is fake and a front for all the other shit that they say behind everyone’s back.” She doesn’t go so far as to call out anyone in particular but noted: “It’s very disheartening to see women tear other women down, especially when women who are successful in other avenues of their industry see younger talent working really hard — hoping to achieve whatever dreams that they may have — and then trying to bash and discredit any work that they’ve done.”
Sweeney’s response was prompted by a question that referenced similar claims made by Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence about women in Hollywood being negatively targeted at the height of their careers. The 27-year-old experienced a version of this earlier this year. In April, Hollywood producer Carol Baum criticized her appearance and talent, saying: “She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?”
“I mean, there’s so many studies and different opinions on the reasoning behind it,” Sweeney continued in Vanity Fair. “I’ve read that our entire lives, we were raised — and it’s a generational problem — to believe only one woman can be at the top. There’s one woman who can get the man. There’s one woman who can be, I don’t know, anything. So then all the others feel like they have to fight each other or take that one woman down instead of being like, Let’s all lift each other up. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m just trying my best over here. Why am I getting attacked?”
Last year, Sweeney led the box office hit Anyone But You alongside Glen Powell. She also appeared in Madame Web, Immaculate, and Eden. Her upcoming slate of appearances includes Michael Pearce’s Echo Valley and David Michôd’s currently untitled biopic about boxer Christy Martin. Sweeney is also expected to return to Euphoria, the hit HBO series that last released a new season in 2022 and will begin production on season three in January 2025.
