Two years after Sydney Sweeney was photographed for Variety sitting on a giant ice block, netizens have now unearthed a very similar shot Lindsay Lohan did when she posed for Rolling Stone back in 2004.
At the time, Lindsay had just turned 18 and was at the peak of her career, promoting films such as Mean Girls and Freaky Friday.
An X user named Aurora P.J contrasted the two photos on social media, telling Sydney, “You’ll NEVER be her!!!!” in a post that received 240,000 likes.
Highlights
- Sydney Sweeney posed on top of a block of ice in a pink swimsuit, reminding netizens of a similar Lindsay Lohan photoshoot from 2004.
- The two actresses have recently seen different levels of box office success.
- Lindsay’s chaotic interview was reflective of the 2000s culture era, while Sydney used hers to defend herself against political speculation.
Image credits: Variety/Eric Ray Davidson
“The Lindsey one is so artistic and beautiful and the other is so unprofessional. No art and no taste,” another user wrote.
“Lindsay chewed that photoshoot,” a third fan commented.
Another user pushed back, writing, “This is a dumb comparison to make. They are both absolutely beautiful.”
Image credits: Variety/Rolling Stone
“People tore Lindsay Lohan to shreds during her peak popularity. They’re exactly the same,” an additional fan noted.
In the retro shot, Lindsay, who was still a redhead, posed in blue shorts and a matching shirt while sitting on two ice blocks.
Two decades later, Sydney donned a hot pink swimsuit with matching heels as she struck a playful pose atop the freezing surface.
Image credits: Rolling Stone
While Sydney and young Lindsay do share some similarities—namely, having their every move scrutinized and debated by millions—their two interviews reveal some differences, reflecting how much pop culture and what society considers appropriate have changed.
Image credits: Variety/Eric Ray Davidson
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The introduction to Lindsay’s 2004 interview is a clear example. It reads, “Lindsay Lohan has been eighteen for just a week when she tells me her breasts are real. I did not ask (gentlemen never do), though my reporting (discreet visual fact checking, a goodbye hug) seems to confirm her statement.”
The then-teenager also admitted in the interview that she has to “watch” what she says, explaining, “I guess I say ‘r*tarded a lot, and this group got mad at me,” gesturing toward her assistant.
Image credits: Getty/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Sydney’s 2023 interview with Variety, which she did when she was 25, begins, “It’s a hot Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles, but Sydney Sweeney, balancing on a block of ice, is keeping her cool.”
The Washington native was promoting two HBO shows: Euphoria, now soon set to release its third season, and The White Lotus, as well as the superhero film Madame Web.
Image credits: trent_sweeneyy
At the time, she was facing backlash over a viral photo from her mother’s 60th birthday celebration that showed guests in “Blue Lives Matter” items and MAGA-styled red caps reading “Make Sixty Great Again.”
In the age of social media, when celebrities care about damage control, Sydney used the interview to tell her side of the story.
Image credits: sydney_sweeney
“There were so many misinterpretations. The people in the pictures weren’t even my family,” she told the outlet.
“The people who brought the things that people were upset about were actually my mom’s friends from LA who have kids that are walking outside in the Pride parade, and they thought it would be funny to wear because they were coming to Idaho.”
Image credits: Disney
Some commenters also pointed to differences between the stars—not in their magazine photoshoots, but at the box office.
Lindsay's much-awaited theater comeback, the Freaky Friday sequel Freakier Friday, grossed a total of $143 million worldwide after premiering in August, as per Collider.
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The outlet reported that the last four films Sydney had starred in at the time—the neo-western Americana, the survival thriller Eden, the Marvel film Madame Web, and the horror film Immaculate—all underperformed at the box office, grossing less than $140 million combined.
One of her latest films, Christy, a biopic of the trailblazing boxer Christy Martin, was also unsuccessful, opening at #11 at the box office.
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The sports drama, which received mixed reviews from critics, failed to attract audiences, making just $1.3 million at the domestic box office after opening in more than 2,000 theaters.
According to Variety, it was one of the worst starts ever for a movie in the US that played on that many screens.
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The 28-year-old actress defended her work on social media, stating, “We don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. And Christy has been the most impactful project of my life.”
After the post comparing them went viral, people shared their thoughts on Sydney and Lindsay’s careers
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