Sydney Sweeney Slams Hollywood’s ‘Women Empowering Women’ Narrative

Sydney Sweeney is frustrated with the hypocrisy in the entertainment industry, particularly with the “women empowering other women” narrative.

In a new interview, the actress candidly remarked that the narrative only holds true in public, but behind the scenes, people are all tarnishing each other.

Sydney Sweeney also questioned why she had been the subject of criticism in recent months, seemingly addressing critics who have questioned her acting abilities and physical appearance.

In a candid Q&A for Vanity Fair‘s 2025 Hollywood issue, Sydney Sweeney criticized the trendy notion of women empowering other women while implying that she has seen more cases of women bashing the works of other women.

“It’s very disheartening to see women tear other women down,” Sweeny told the publication. “Especially when women who are successful in other avenues of their industry see younger talent working really hard — hoping to achieve whatever dreams that they may have — and then trying to bash and discredit any work that they’ve done.”

The actress and her team recently had to fight back against a female producer, Carol Baum, who questioned her looks and talent.

While Sweeney did emerge stronger, the experience made it evident to her that the women’s empowerment rhetoric was nothing more than a façade.

“This entire industry, all people say is ‘Women empowering other women.’ None of it’s happening,” the “Euphoria” star noted. “All of it is fake and a front for all the other sh-t that they say behind everyone’s back.”

Sweeney also sought to explain why she holds this opinion, linking it to how women are often raised to compete against one another.

She shared, “I mean, there’s so many studies and different opinions on the reasoning behind it. I’ve read that our entire lives, we were raised—and it’s a generational problem—to believe only one woman can be at the top. There’s one woman who can get the man. There’s one woman who can be, I don’t know, anything.”

The “Sharp Objects” went on to share that this has made women “feel like they have to fight each other or take that one woman down” rather than support each other.

She also questioned why she has been receiving criticism despite still trying to find her footing in the industry.

Sweeney added, “I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m just trying my best over here. Why am I getting attacked?”

With season three of “Euphoria” set to resume production in January, fans of Sweeney can look forward to seeing her back on the small screen.

Despite having over two years since the last installment to pursue other projects, Sweeney revealed that she had to turn down a few opportunities due to her commitment to the teen drama series.

The actress shared, “There were definitely a few projects that I had to pass on because I was supposed to be going back to Euphoria.”

Luckily, now that she’s a producer, she was able to sneak a few of her own projects as she had full control over the production schedule.

“That’s how Anyone but You happened,” Sweeney said, referencing her romantic comedy movie, which dropped in December 2023.

She added, “‘Euphoria’ was supposed to start filming, and I had another film that I was supposed to do, but we couldn’t get cleared, and after a few weeks, I realized, this is not happening. So I put in full gear to make ‘Anyone but You.'”

In April, top producer Baum made headlines after saying Sweeney “isn’t pretty” and “can’t act.”

Her remarks went viral prompting the “White Lotus” star to respond, calling the producer’s actions “shameful.”

According to TMZ, a rep for Sweeney blasted Baum, saying, “How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman.”

“If tearing down another woman is what Carol has learned during her decades in the business, and she feels it appropriate to pass that on to her students, then that’s truly shameful,” the rep added. “To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms Baum’s character.”

Other Hollywood hotshots also defended Sweeney, as producer Teddy Schwarzman, who worked with the actress on “Immaculate,” emphasized how talented she is and added that she is “incredibly smart, kind and humble.”

Baum also shared that she was regretful of her remarks about Sweeney after facing backlash.

Despite still seeing herself as an aspiring actress, Sweeney has been snagging multiple roles that have earned her a smile to the bank.

The actress is reportedly set to earn a $7.5 million salary for her starring role in Lionsgate’s “The Housemaid.” She will also portray boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic, with her salary for the role yet to be disclosed.

Reaching this point in her career has come with many sacrifices, not just from Sydney Sweeney herself but also from her parents, who relocated closer to Hollywood to support her dreams and eventually went bankrupt in the process.

“I knew that I could never actually fail because, I mean, on a very broad scale, my family did lose everything,” Sweeney said of her parents, per the Daily Mail. “They did get a divorce.”

She added, “Whether or not that was because of coming here, it definitely was a catalyst for it. So I knew I had to succeed in some capacity so that it wasn’t for nothing.”