Fans of the actress Sydney Sweeney were outraged when one Hollywood producer criticized her.
Carol Baum, who has produced 34 Hollywood movies including Father of the Bride and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, slammed the actress’ abilities and even her famed beauty.
Baum made the comments while speaking at a panel about her 1988 film Dead Ringers with moderator and New York Times film critic Janet Maslin.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
“There’s an actress who everybody loves now—Sydney Sweeney,” Baum started, according to the Daily Mail, before discussing Sweeney’s latest movie, Anyone But You.
“I don’t get Sydney Sweeney… I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her,” she said of her decision to watch Anyone But You.
“I watched this unwatchable movie—sorry to people who love this movie—[this] romantic comedy where they hate each other.”
“I said to my class, ‘Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?'” she said, referring to a conversation she had with her students at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. “Nobody had an answer.”
Baum added: “Nobody had an answer but then the question was asked, ‘Well if you could get your movie made because she was in it, would you do it?’
“I said, ‘Well that’s a really good question…that’s a very hard question to answer because we all want to get the movie made and who walks away from a green light? Nobody I know. Your job is to get the movie made.'”
Newsweek contacted Sweeney’s representatives by email for comment.
The actress’ fans were less than impressed with Baum’s comments.
“How sad to hear a veteran female film producer Carol Baum criticize Sydney Sweeney for not being pretty! Internal misogyny hides in the least likely places. We don’t owe them pretty, it’s time to give em UGLY dammit,” wrote @Rosamojo on X, formerly Twitter.
“Sydney Sweeney received 2 Emmy nods for acting at age 24 delivered 2 hit films she headlined AND produced at age 26. Carol Baum, with nothing relevant on her resume in 30 years, should sit this one out. P.S. Trash talking the looks of an objectively attractive woman, is low,” added @effoff1988.
And @zilla92 commented: “Carol Baum needs her eyes checked and head examined lol.”
Sweeney rose to fame on HBO’s teen drama, Euphoria, and is a two-time nominated Emmy Award actress whose star is on the rise in Hollywood. She recently hosted Saturday Night Live and gave a critically-acclaimed performance in the movie Reality.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.