Pictures of the famous blonde in a bikini sparked accusations of ‘catfishing’ from certain toxic corners of the internet – proving that not even the beautiful people are immune when it comes to misogyny. Helen Coffey wonders whether we’ll ever get past tearing women down when they commit the cardinal sin of being human.
When Sydney Sweeney – a celebrity so famous for being objectively gorgeous that she’s had entire SNL skits dedicated to her hourglass figure – isn’t deemed physically attractive enough to pass muster, it really makes you wonder what chance there is for the rest of womankind. This is a person so hot that right-wing pundits memorably, if inexplicably, argued that her breasts spelt the “death of woke”. And even she’s not good enough? Clearly, we’re all playing a losing game here.
The White Lotus actor unwittingly sparked some internet “discourse” this week by having the gall to walk around in a bikini with no makeup on, her hair pulled back in a casual ponytail. They weren’t the most flattering photos ever taken of Sweeney: she wasn’t posing for a start, her lilac two-piece was more functional than showstopper, and her hair and face weren’t coiffed and glammed to the nines. It’s unclear why they would be though, given that Sweeney was simply chilling out and sunbathing at her own home in the Florida Keys, rather than attending a red carpet event. The candid snaps appear to have been taken by a paparazzo without Sweeney’s consent when she was on her property – she’d probably made the reasonable yet mistaken assumption that she could relax and just be for a change, instead of having to “perform” for the male gaze.
