Actress Sydney Sweeney slams ‘fake’ female empowerment in Hollywood

By Jack Guy, CNN

(CNN) — Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney has hit out at what she calls “fake” pronouncements on female empowerment in the entertainment industry.

Sweeney made the comments in an interview with Vanity Fair published Wednesday, responding to widely reported comments made by Hollywood producer Carol Baum earlier this year, who said Sweeney is “not pretty” and “can’t act.”

At the time, Sweeney’s team released a statement calling the comments “shameful.”

Now, the actress and producer has fired back herself, and linked the disparaging remarks to what she says is a wider problem in the industry.

“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 said.

“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 sh*t that they say behind everyone’s back.”

“I mean, there’s so many studies and different opinions on the reasoning behind it,” she continued.

“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,” said Sweeney.

“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?”

Sweeney, whose roles in “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” earned her two Emmy nominations, is currently working on a biopic about famed boxer Christy Martin, and in October shared an update on the project on Instagram.

In the post, Sweeney wrote that she’s “been immersed in training to bring to life the story of an incredible woman.”

She shared two photos of herself on set wearing a red muscle T-shirt that showcased the physical results of her training, along with a 90s-style curly hairdo.

In the caption, Sweeney went on to describe Martin — who is widely considered the most successful female boxer and a trailblazer for the inclusion of women in the sport — as a “true champion who fought battles both inside and outside the ring.”

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CNN’s Alli Rosenbloom contributed reporting.