Sydney Sweeney's segment and sketches on Saturday Night Live (SNL) drew criticism, as people accused writers of reducing her to her looks, with some pointing to the show demonstrating a bigger interest in her breasts than her talent.
Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney hosted SNL on March 2, and despite being a notable part of her appearance, the 26-year-old actress’ boobs might’ve been referred to too often, according to some critics.
Highlights
- Sydney Sweeney's SNL appearance faced backlash for excessive focus on her looks rather than her talent, specifically her breasts.
- Despite hosting SNL, critics noted her roles in sketches were one-note, often revolving around her appearance and sexuality.
- In a well-received sketch, Sweeney humorously confessed a crush on Bowen Yang, who interestingly played a straight character.
- Negative feedback spotlighted Sweeney's portrayal of a Hooters waitress, arguing it leaned too heavily on stereotypical sexualization.
Each SNL episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast.
In her monologue, Sydney kicked off: “You might have seen me in Euphoria or Anyone But You.”
Poking fun at Marvel’s new movie completely bombing the box office, in which she played Julia Carpenter, the actress continued: “You definitely didn’t see me in Madame Web.”
Afterward, Sydney’s monologue became a hurried series of one-note jokes about how she's been presented in her roles: “People only see me as the girl on TV who screams, cries, and has sex.”
Sydney Sweeney's SNL appearance faced criticism for reducing her to her looks
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
“I run, avoid sugar, and do Ozempic,” she joked.
During a moment in her speech, the Spokane native attempted to debunk rumors surrounding her alleged affair with her co-star Glen Powell during Anyone But You’s shooting.
When she requested the camera to focus on her real-life fiancé, it instead jokingly zoomed in on Glen, who was seen playfully posing in the audience.
According to critics, the best sketch of the night starred comedian and SNL writer Bowen Yang.
The humorous act began with Sydney confessing to SNL cast members Ego Nwodim and Heidi Gardner that she had an “itsy-bitsy crush on a cast member.”
Sydney joked about rumors of an affair with Glen Powell and shared a well-received sketch with Bowen Yang
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
Sydney went on to confess that she had a soft spot for Bowen, stating her type was “gay-presenting Asian podcasters,” whom the women reveal to her is actually straight as an arrow.
Heidi explained: “Bowen just plays gay on the show because it’s a shortcut to laughs.”
In the sketch, Bowen was portrayed as a nonchalant player, hooking up with actresses Gina Gershon and Sydney and eventually jetting off to Paris with two other women in leopard-print furs.
But in another comical performance that didn’t land well amongst many viewers, Sydney portrayed a clumsy bimbo-esque Hooters waitress.
Hooters is an American restaurant chain known for its Hooters Girls, who are typically young women wearing revealing outfits. The chain’s name is often used informally as slang to refer to breasts, as it is notable for its branding and uniforms that emphasize the chest area of its servers.
Sydney also flirted with a dog when she portrayed a popular high school cheerleader in another sketch
Image credits: Saturday Night Live
The sketch opened with cast members Chloe Fineman and Sarah Sherman as waitresses counting out their cash after a long Hooters shift.
Dismissing their poor earnings, Sydney's character, newcomer server Tina, promptly disclosed that she had amassed over $30,000 in tips.
The Hooters coworkers looked on as Sydney's Tina walked over to a table of men, featuring cast members Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, and Micheal Longfellow, and seemed to hypnotize them.
After they insisted everything she did was perfect, Michael went on to quite literally choke on the beer Sydney poured into his mouth before declaring his sheer joy at having broken his sobriety in this manner.
In another sketch, Sydney played a popular high school cheerleader who had just returned from vacation to the news that there was a new star basketball player.
You can watch Sydney's SNL monologue below:
Little did she know or care that the new team athlete was Air Bud, a Golden Retriever. Throughout the act, Sydney is seen flirting with the dog.
The actress’ performance on SNL amassed millions of views on YouTube and social media, with thousands of reactions ranging from praise to backlash.
A person wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter): “If I'm @sydney_sweeney, I'm bummed after #SNL.
“Look, Syd was cute, her lazy-eyed toast was buttered. Fine.
“Yet, SNL did her ZERO favors; can you take someone seriously whose professional identity is ‘big tits’?
“Sweeney had absolutely nothing to do other than ‘tits.’
“This won't build a mainstream career. The mask will fall, and it will fall hard.”
You can watch Sydney's controversial Hooters sketch below:
Another person commented: “No disrespect to Sydney Sweeney, obviously she looks great in a Hooters outfit.
“But SNL writers WTF? The joke is that she makes more tips? That’s not funny.
“This sketch DESPERATELY needed Chris Farley in a Hooters outfit making MORE TIPS than her. Now THAT would’ve been funny”
A separate individual had a more positive take, as they penned: “Sydney Sweeney addressing the rumors about her and Glen Powell confirming that she is still with her fiancé then roasting tf out of Madame Web knowing it flopped in theaters on SNL is iconic asf they could never make me hate her.”
Sydney has previously opened up about scrutiny over her body and her difficult years at school.
In an interview published last year by The Sun, she said: “I had boobs before other girls, and I felt ostracised for it.”
Nude scenes in Euphoria also led to her being trolled. She recalled: “It got to the point where they were tagging my family.
"My cousins don’t need that. It’s completely disgusting and unfair.
"You have a character that goes through the scrutiny of being a sexualized person at school and then an audience that does the same thing.
"I think it’s ridiculous. I’m an artist, I play characters. It makes me want to play characters that p**s people off more."
Sydney Sweeney's SNL performance continued to amass different reactions
