Sydney Sweeney hits back at body shamers who say she needs to go ‘back to the gym’

Sydney Sweeney reads the comments. She’s taking them in stride.

The Euphoria actress, 27, took to Instagram on Friday to share a video featuring a series of hateful comments about her body. The comments, which seemingly stemmed from recent paparazzi photos of Sweeney outside her home in a bikini, called the Anyone But You star everything from “quite frumpy” to “chunky” and “definitely not supermodel material.” One commenter also claimed Sweeney needed to “hit the gym” more often.

That last comment is ironic, since just after the comments, she posted photos and videos of herself doing just that. Sweeney shared shots of her pushing tires, pumping iron and boxing in a ring — as well as showing off impressive muscle gains in the mirror.

Sweeney’s industry peers rushed to her defense. Riverdale alum Lili Reinhart commented on the post, “It’s always wild to see people publicly out-themselves as pieces of s*** with comments like that. You look incredible and your dedication to your project is very inspiring.”

Sweeney’s intense routine is part of training for her upcoming role in David Michôd’s new movie, in which she portrays the ’90s boxing icon Christy Martin. It’s a transformative role that Sweeney has said she’s proud to take on.

“I’ve been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman — a true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring,” Sweeney wrote on Instagram in October, showing photos of her on set. “Her journey is a testament to resilience, strength, and hope, and I’m honored to step into her shoes to share her powerful story with you all.”

In a May interview with Deadline, she described the role as “physically and emotionally demanding,” but said she was excited to “challenge” herself.

This is not the first time Sweeney has called out online critics of her appearance. In May 2021, the two-time Emmy nominee posted a video of herself on Instagram after she learned that she was “trending on Twitter … for being ugly.”

“I know everyone says, ‘You can’t read things,’ and ‘You shouldn’t read things,’ but like, I’m a f***ing person,” she said, through tears. “I think it’s really important for people to see how words actually affect people.”

Earlier this year, Sweeney also responded through her representatives to criticism from the film producer Carol Baum, who said that the Reality actress was “not pretty” and “can’t act.” Sweeney’s representatives replied at the time, “How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman.”