As I’ve said before, I like Sydney Sweeney. I think she’s a smart cookie, and I appreciate the fact that she’s not a nepo-baby, and that she’s gotten to the top because of her sheer hustle, drive, talent and work ethic. Sydney is featured on Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue cover, and VF did individual profiles of all of their cover stars. She’s now an in-demand producer because of the success of Anyone But You, plus Immaculate. She’s also got Ron Howard’s Eden coming up, and Echo Valley with Julianne Moore. Some highlights from her VF profile:
On her interviews: “We’re going to have a conversation, we’ll talk for 30 minutes, it’s condensed, then people don’t understand the context behind the conversation, and it’s all clickbait. Unfortunately I don’t get to control my image—my image is in your guys’ hands.”
Her work as a producer: “I love being able to have a seat at the table, have creative say over decisions that would help benefit the project, whether it be the character or budget or time frame, anything that I can do that can help the project succeed. I love to help brainstorm and problem solve because it’s a puzzle—you’re constantly trying to have all these moving pieces put together.
On the strategy to play up affair rumors with Glen Powell: “Once [Anyone But You] did become a success, a lot of the interviews were just questions about it, so I don’t know if we necessarily were planning on ever talking about the strategy behind any of it. We just had very specific questions and when you say no to a question, people think that you’re a bitch, so….We definitely are very supportive of each other’s careers. We watch and talk about each other’s projects all the time, or even if we’re both debating between projects, we’ll call each other up and ask for advice. I just saw him last week and we were talking through some projects, so we definitely have a really great working relationship. We would absolutely love to work on something else together.
On a female producer publicly calling her talentless: “It’s very disheartening to see women tear other women down, 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. This entire industry, all people say is “Women empowering other women.” None of it’s happening. All of it is fake and a front for all the other sh-t that they say behind everyone’s back.”
More on women not supporting women: “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. So then all the others feel like they have to fight each other or take that one woman down instead of being like, Let’s all lift each other up. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m just trying my best over here. Why am I getting attacked?
She also talks about Euphoria and effortlessly walks the line of being happy about a show which made her a breakout star AND calling out the producers for not having their acts together. Which is true. As for what she says about what Hollywood is really like and all of the “women supporting women” stuff being bullsh-t… I believe it, but I also believe it’s particular to Sydney too. Like, I think there are pockets of Hollywood where, um, white women support other white women. But I think a lot of women are probably threatened by Sydney’s youth and beauty too.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- Armani Beauty Passione Party during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at Arsenal Featuring: Sydney Sweeney Where: Venice, Italy When: 31 Aug 2024 Credit: IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Armani Beauty Passione Party during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at Arsenal Featuring: Sydney Sweeney Where: Venice, Italy When: 31 Aug 2024 Credit: IPA/INSTARimages **UK, USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Cast attend the ‘Eden’ Premiere during the 49th Toronto International Film Festival Featuring: Sydney Sweeney Where: Toronto, Canada When: 07 Sep 2024 Credit: Captive Camera/Cover Images
I’m glad you differentiate the demo of women who do that.
I know my demo of the 92% are always in lock step.
We most certainly are ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻
I don’t know how Hollywood works, but in my years in investment banking, the system was set up for there being “only one woman.” “We’re progressive. See? We have *a* woman senior manager.” Women competing for that one or handful of spots weren’t going to think first about supporting each other. And once that “one woman” got to the top, all other women were competition to knock her down. They were much harder on women than men because “I had to go through hell to get here, why should you have it any easier.”
Not just investment banking, but finance in general, consulting, telecommunications, you name it.
Nor just work but all too often it’s women who tear down other women over men, looks, background etc. I see it here too unfortunately.
honestly, I think it all dates back to “palace intrigue” and Puritanism. It’s why white gentile American women are so willing to vote us back to coverture. It was the Puritan women who were the harshest casting other women out/delivering punishment. The level of sadism is amped up because they harshest they were hurting & standing judgement over other women (while protecting the secrets and reputations of men) is where their power came from. This plays out to a lesser degree in the “queen bee” politics of junior high/high school girls and, for many women, the behaviors are carried forward into their adult lives.
“Sydney Sweeney on ‘women supporting women’: ‘None of it’s happening. All of it is fake’”
I’ve been a part of the nonprofit industry for over 20 years and I’m here to say that it’s the same there as well. I came out of corporate America and found the same thing in the non-profit arena. Just like in corporate America you still have these “cliques” but no one really supports one another It’s only so that they can push their own agendas.
I truly wish it would change we truly need each other! 💞
So obviously, the one woman was set up by the men at the top, and even with one woman making it, she wouldn’t have enough power to help other women if that one woman quota had already been decided by the men. It’s a no-win with the men still in control.
I think that she is 100% right that the women supporting women thing is partly bs (ex: the recent election). However it’s not everyone. People who are threatened by her will not support her. But I believe women like Julianne Moore and her costar Zendaya want her to be successful. She isn’t a threat to either of them.
I wish her response had been more nuanced. That she has not experienced support does not mean that it doesn’t and hasn’t happened. She is insulting women she hasn’t even met or had the chance to work with yet. There is a way to talk about what she is experiencing without giving men more ammunition to talk about how selfish, catty and awful all women are and that we don’t belong in the business.
I didn’t read it as a blanket statement that she has never gotten support from any women in Hollywood, more of a diplomatic response without being specific to that horrible woman producer that crapped all over her publicly for absolutely no reason
this is a great demonstration of exactly the thing she addressed in the very first part of the interview posted here — her brief conversation with a journalist was condensed, published, and used for clickbait that people respond to with dismay that she didn’t say what they wanted her to say.
I’m responding to her words: “This entire industry” and ” None of it’s happening. All of it is fake.”
I think her initial comment is legit. I also think that her wording was broad and definitive in an unfortunate way.
I agree, I absolutely believe that has been her experience, but also that her experience is fairly limited. To me it reads as a blanket statement which I don’t think is the wisest choice, but I will say I hope she finds future collaborators to be more supportive. It’s a tough business, and I would imagine it helps having other women looking out for you.
Also sometimes the energy you put out there is the energy you get back.
As an actress, she’s not my favorite (I watch ABY). However, I am fully behind her hustle, she’s not a nepo kid, she’s had to get where she is by jumping more hurdles. She broke down the extra costs, like the dresses, stylists, hair, etc that women need to invest in while earning less money. She is willing to speak up so hopefully things can improve, and I very much appreciate that. Her leaning into the affair rumorswith GP also makes sense: If it gets people to pay attention and watch the film, it pays a bunch of people’s salaries and leads to more work. That’s a win. Especially if she can’t dictate what people write about when they interview her.
I’m a fan of Sydney despite the adenoidal voice (one of my pet peeves…see also, Sophie Turner and Ryan Gosling). She makes me think of a young Goldie Hawn; I’d love to see her in a Private Benjamin remake, or a remake of An Officer And A Gentleman – she’s got a dash of Debra Winger too. Or even Jane Fonda. There’s just something 70s earthy and sexy about her vibe.
She’s got an eye for what sells and how to effectively use what she’s got, like Margot Robbie. I think she’ll have a great career and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next!
A few women in stand up also talked about that. In the past, there was only one spot for female comics for a standup show, so they had to fight with one other for that one spot. Although that changed, the culture stayed the same. After #metoo, they said they started to talk about the importance of supporting one another. I think it is the same in Hollywood. Even though the roles for women are more diverse and more in number now, the culture of pitting women against one other didn’t change, so they believe any young talent coming up is danger to them or is the trigger of insecurity for getting old (which was a career death for women for a long time). Younger women are more aware of it and fighting against it, but unfortunately a lot of older female artists still wouldn’t care to change their views. I still can’t believe how that producer talked about Sydney.
time will tell whether these young actresses who are currently struggling with this will not undermine other young actresses in the future, turning into the kind of people they now accuse of lacking support.
It was truly horrible to say about anyone “why is she so popular? I don’t get it. She’s not talented and she’s not even pretty”. We might say the same about any actress or actor we just don’t get but to publicly say it…. That female producer should have apologized I don’t think she ever did.
@Lens, I think the worst part is she said it in an industry event, not on some gossip show. Imagine hearing that about yourself in a room full of serious people that can be your future boss, colleague, partner in a project. That made it worse, imo.
That producer was horrible. Sydney is right, unfortunately. After many years in the industry, it’s the women who you have to watch out for. It gives me no pleasure to say it, and there are lots of great women who will be your friends and supporters. But oof, the stories I’ve heard and the things I’ve seen. If some women feel threatened by you for whatever reason, watch your six.
I can believe what she said about women not supporting women because like others have said, there is a sense in many industries of “we have a woman in X position, why do we need more?” Its like when RBG was asked when there would be “enough” women on the supreme court and she said “when there are nine.” No one ever asks if there are too many men on the bench.
I feel like Hollywood is changing and women are getting more and more seats at the table but I imagine there is still a HUGE old boys club feel to the industry and that probably extends to the idea of “we have one woman producer on this project, why do we need another?” or the like. And so that woman producer who is already there is going to do what she needs to do to protect her own position. We have seen this happen in many industries. it doesn’t mean its across the board or that EVERY woman acts that way, but I can see it especially with older women who had to fight to be the sole woman in the room.
My hope is that as more women do get into those positions of power across different industries it will continue to open more doors – especially as those women are successful. But we talked about this with the success of Barbie – to me, the lesson from Barbie was “you can make a good movie with a creative team led by women that women are going to want to come to see in DROVES and you’ll make a billion dollars so give women more power to make movies aimed at women.” But instead the lesson seemed to be “we need to make more movies about Mattel toys.”
I think she’s right that there are a lot of women out there ready to tear down or not support her. But I do think that she could find a pocket of people, women included, that can support each other. It’s about finding the right ones and building those connections. Which is not easy. But a small circle can be good too if you can find it.
Speaking as a white woman, I definitely experienced that early in my career and promised myself I would not be that woman. So then at mid career, a younger woman on staff kept stepping on my toes and I felt threatened. But I checked myself, worked through it, and we have a great dynamic now a decade later. We can be the change.
ETA I do not work in Hollywood or anything Hollywood adjacent.
Sydney does seem to like taking big swings and risks. She is developing a movie now, in which she plays Kim Novak and it explores her relationship with Sammy Davis Jr. Seems like a great story but the kind of controversy that many would advise against at this point in her career. But she wants to do it. So if nothing else I admire her guts
She can definitely pull off playing Kim Novak. I also feel like Sydney is making good choices to stretch her acting talent and not coast on her looks. I thought she was great in Reality, and it really demonstrated that she doesn’t have to be sexy to be interesting. Point being, it’s acting talent that gives a career longevity. I’m rooting for her.
Her experience is her own and no one but her can say with certainty what that experience has been. Being a mentor to an actress at the beginning of her career is different from forming or joining a coalition that supports and develops women in other roles such as producing. There are many successful production companies led by women so hopefully Sydney will find a place among them.
Where there are men in charge, they know women will fight each other for those rare top positions (I was told this by a major CEO of a tech firm). They hire accordingly and watch this play out. It’s horrifying. I have two daughters. I’ve always told them, there are no limits on love or money, there’s plenty to go around. Our job is to find our opportunities, and do our best to create more for the other women who should succeed or exceed us. I once sent a note of congratulations to woman who had been made a board member at a firm I work with. She was amazed that I reached out. My reply was, “when one of wins, we all win.”
Ngl, as a woman of color, I really believe that many white women have been raised with high competition mindset to fight other white women. (I understand it’s #notallwhitewomen.) There is so much rivalry and frenemyship and trying to be “the best” all the time in white women culture. It’s so deeply ingrained I think a lot of ww don’t even know they’re doing it, it comes so naturally to them. I just shake my head at this behavior. Don’t ww realize they could get much farther together??? If WOC didn’t support each other so much I really don’t know where any of us would be.
You’re not wrong, but if ww supported each other, cheetolini would never have been elected in the first place. The white patriarchy has a pretty big stake in keeping women in their place. I’m not saying women aren’t responsible for their own bad behavior, but pitting women against each other is as American as apple pie.
There has been a shift due to the horrid election. Women are supporting women…and it’s awesome! I can’t speak for Hollywood…that may be a slower trickle.
Women supporting women is not fake. New results will come to light in the coming days. Hold tight.
I used to be a woman who supported women. Now I’m a woman who supports women who didn’t vote for Trump. If you voted for him, I don’t care if you keep breathing.
Fair, TBH.
I disagree with Sydney. However, will say that I’m a “type A” woman (person, full stop / period) and notice that some women / some contexts can’t accept that whilst men will accept independence and self-sufficiency more. I notice in the workplace men have more leeway to not have to be “nice”, “warm”, “welcoming”, etc. Women are held to those standards more. Annoying.
Agree. You don’t see these comments about men and helping other men (and I’m not talking about alliances between men already in positions of power).
Men despise and undermine each other all the time. The difference is they have the cultural approval to be upfront about it. They don’t have to play backstabbing games while smiling to your face. I tried that with a male coworker once. A racist, sexist, jackass. I called him out on his behavior. And he dragged me into HR in tears. She rolled her eyes so hard, but basically dismissed the whole thing. So now I give kid glove treatment to little men fronting their insecurities with bigotry.
Agree with both posters.
Also, to add, there’s a huge difference between being collegial, supportive, and collaborative vs being “likeable”, “kind”, “warm”, “welcoming”, “a girl’s girl”, etc. The more time I spend in the workforce, the more I notice women in particular tend to expect this more of other women but not of men. Men can be economical and succinct in their interactions and that’s just fine; if a woman does the exact same thing, she’s “aloof”, “cold”, “self-interested”, and seen as being less trustworthy.
The best response to her comments would be for other women to reveal any help they have had from their fellow women in the industry. Meanwhile, the person she is building up in the article is a man. A good question from the journalist would have been “what woman have you supported/mentored?” Ironic that one of the other articles on here is about Meghan investing in women’s initiatives.
I didn’t even realize WOC worked together? So there you go. After 50+ years, I’m sick of all the social games and never fit in, so I just stopped and stay at home with the dogs. So maybe now it’s ALL a competition? Ugh.
I think ppl are intimidated by her bc she doesn’t fit any mold. A young actress came from nowhere like her, she’s expected to act sort of apologetically and grateful for having been ‘granted’ a platform and an It Girl status.
Instead, she’s been brutally honest about her struggles to get roles, the costs for her living when protection from threatening fans is a real need, how she’s expected to dress like a billionaire 24/7 while she’s spent half a year without receiving a paycheck. She’s not a glamazon or an outstanding beauty, not the best actress out there. She’s not hopping from one It Boy to another or looking forward to make the party squad.
Yet be it from excellent PR or sheer luck, she’s became a rare case of the industry appreciating how she connects with audiences over box checking. It’s expected that those who spend a lot of their time doing the ‘right things’ are infuriated; particularly those who’re NOT seating on millions from back in the day when A-listers could expect 20-mill checks for pretty much any part.