Sydney Sweeney wants the attention of provocative ad campaigns but doesn't want to be responsible for the fallout

Dear Gossips,

The secret is out, Lainey is in Ottawa doing Heated Rivalry things with Hudson Williams and the PM, who got THE fleece!

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From the highs of Heated Rivalry, to the lows of Sydney Sweeney, let’s shift gears because I am nothing if not a Debbie Downer. Sweeney covers Cosmopolitan to go along with the launch of her new lingerie brand, SYRN. It’s pronounced “siren”, but I see it and all I hear is “sern”.

Earlier this week, Sweeney stunted on the Hollywood sign with some bras to raise awareness for the brand launch, and she might actually get in trouble for that.

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Like she cares, SYRN is (probably) backed by Jeff Bezos—so that’s why she was at his wedding—so they can afford the fines. I don’t hate the idea of Sydney Sweeney, famous for her boobs, launching a lingerie brand. It makes a lot of sense. It makes more sense than like 90% of celebrity brands.

But what I really want to talk about is Sweeney’s Cosmo interview, particularly the part where she disavows the labels assigned to her by the public, especially “MAGA Barbie”. Of the label she says, “I’ve never been here to talk about politics. I’ve always been here to make art, so this is just not a conversation I want to be at the forefront of. And I think because of that, people want to take it even further and use me as their own pawn. But it’s somebody else assigning something to me, and I can’t control that.”

Well, you CAN control it, because there are a lot of blonde actresses who do not get called “MAGA Barbie”. Of course, it stems from the double whammy of the American Eagle “good jeans” ad and Sweeney being confirmed as a registered Republican voter. And now it will be worse because, quite frankly, we’ve crossed a Rubicon in the US and who spoke out and who didn’t will be remembered. Today is the National Day of Action in the US, in which people are taking to the streets across the country to protest ICE and demand their removal from our cities (and the total abolishment of the agency, and we should have Nuremberg-style trials for everyone involved, too). People are literally risking their lives to defend immigrants’ rights, our rights as citizens, and our safety as communities.

In this moment, being able to say “this is not a conversation I want to be at the forefront of” is a choice and a privilege. I don’t want to be at the forefront of it, either, but I have been doing what I can for my neighbors and my neighborhood, I’m here to make art AND have a conversation. Choosing the sidelines isn’t an option anymore. Or I guess it is, but yeah, Sydney, people are going to make certain assumptions based on that inaction

So, Sydney Sweeney wants all the attention of stunts and “provocative” ad campaigns, but she still doesn’t want to be responsible for any of the fallout. It’s all just stuff that is happening to her, it’s everyone else’s fault, she, the one making these deals and participating in these moments, has nothing to do with how the plebes interpret it. Sydney Sweeney has told us who she is. We’re just listening.