Vince Russo thinks people need to get over themselves. Sydney Sweeney’s latest commercial has been taking heat from Olympic athletes, but the former WWE writer doesn’t see what everyone’s so worked up about.
Russo jumped on Twitter after the actress found herself at the center of another controversy. Her new advertisement for sports prediction company Novig has drawn criticism from several current and former Olympic athletes, who argue the campaign sexualizes women’s sport instead of celebrating the athletes themselves. Russo looked at all the outrage and landed on the complete opposite side.
“In defense of Sydney Sweeney—and I’ve been saying this for YEARS. If I had PECS and a SIX-PACK—I’d be walking around ALL DAY with no shirt. If I offend you? Go tell somebody who actually cares . . . if you can find one.”
The commercial itself isn’t exactly subtle. Sweeney appears in little to no clothing while posing as the athlete across several different sports, something many critics believe takes the attention away from women’s sport and puts it squarely on her appearance instead.
Retired Australian Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus was one of the biggest names to call it out. She blasted the campaign for sexualizing women’s sport and admitted she thought advertising like this had been left behind years ago.
Russo clearly isn’t interested in that argument. To him, the issue isn’t the commercial—it’s people acting offended by someone showing off their body. His point was pretty straightforward: if he had “pecs and a six-pack,” he’d be doing exactly the same thing and wouldn’t care who had a problem with it.
It’s another debate that’s quickly turned into people picking sides. Olympic athletes have lined up against the campaign, Russo has lined up behind Sweeney, and judging by his response, he doesn’t sound like someone planning to back down anytime soon.
What do you make of Vince Russo’s defense of Sydney Sweeney? Do you agree with his take, or do you understand why athletes have criticized the commercial? Let us know in the comments.
