Unfortunately, Sydney Sweeney is no stranger to facing online abuse. Her comment sections are regularly filled with vitriolic comments criticising her appearance, shaming her physique and calling her unattractive. These comments have only become more common in recent months, with the actress undergoing a physical change.
For her next film, Sweeney will play pro boxer Christy Martin in a biopic about the athlete’s rise to fame in the ‘90s and eventual induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020. To sell the role, Sweeney has been impressively building muscle with a spate of intense workouts. But of course, that hasn’t pleased a significant portion of her followers, who seem content to scrutinise the actress’ every decision.
Clearly, Sweeney has had enough (we hear you). She recently took to Instagram to set the record straight with a video that opens with a string of unsavoury comments about her body, before abruptly cutting to photos and videos of her performing intense exercises.
In the video, we see Sweeney rotate between a set of straight-bar tricep pushdowns, glute-hamstring developer extensions, push-ups, giant-tyre flipping, rigorous boxing drills, bag work and plenty of bicep flexing. She didn’t caption the video, but the message was clear.
Sweeney has been vocal about online hate comments in the past. Speaking to Vanity Fair last month, she said “I’m just trying my best over here. Why am I getting attacked?”
“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,” she continued. “This entire industry, all people say is ‘Women empowering other women.’ 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.”
Sweeney first broke the news of her upcoming role back in October. Taking to Instagram to share the first images of her muscled transformation. “Well, the cat’s out of the bag thanks to some paps in bushes, so here’s a little BTS from my film I’m working on right now.”
“Over the past few months, 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. Her journey is a testament to resilience, strength, and hope, and I’m honoured to step into her shoes to share her powerful story with you all.”
