Sydney Sweeney Loses 200K Instagram Followers After Controversial Ad

Shweta ChakrawartyThu, September 17, 2026 at 11:37 AM UTC

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Photo Credit: @sydney_sweeney / Instagram)Sydney Sweeney’s Instagram stats have come under fresh scrutiny following backlash over her latest Novig commercial. New data suggests the actress briefly lost more than 200,000 followers. However, her account quickly saw a rebound as well. Sydney Sweeney’s Instagram followers drop after Novig ad controversy According to Newsweek, Sydney Sweeney’s Instagram account saw a sharp […] The post Sydney Sweeney Loses 200K Instagram Followers After Controversial Ad appeared first on Reality Tea .

Sydney Sweeney’s Instagram stats have come under fresh scrutiny following backlash over her latest Novig commercial. New data suggests the actress briefly lost more than 200,000 followers. However, her account quickly saw a rebound as well.

Sydney Sweeney’s Instagram followers drop after Novig ad controversy

According to Newsweek, Sydney Sweeney’s Instagram account saw a sharp drop in followers after criticism surrounding her recent Novig ad. The actress appeared in a sports-themed commercial for the prediction market platform. In the ad, Sweeney poses with various sports equipment while saying, “Just sports.”

While the commercial did not spark immediate criticism, backlash grew over the following days. Some athletes and social media users argued that the campaign sexualized women in sports.

Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus was among those who criticized the advertisement. British sprinter Amy Hunt also addressed the issue, saying after a race, “This is what women in sport look like. Muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, tears.”

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Using data from Social Blade, Newsweek reported that Sweeney initially gained followers after the ad was released. However, the trend quickly reversed as criticism spread online.  The report found she lost 136,848 followers on September 13, followed by another 66,446 the next day. That amounted to a loss of more than 203,000 followers within 48 hours.

The decline did not last long. According to the outlet, Sweeney regained more than 102,000 followers over the next two days.

Marketing expert Americus Reed of the Wharton School told Newsweek that repeated controversies can keep celebrities in the spotlight. However, he warned they also carry long-term reputational risks. Reed said celebrities can become known more for controversy than for their work. He described it as an “identity foreclosure,” where a public figure becomes associated with a single cultural narrative.

Despite the backlash, Sweeney remained one of the internet’s most searched celebrities last week. The report noted that searches related to her sports ad even surpassed several major news topics, highlighting the attention the campaign generated.

The post Sydney Sweeney Loses 200K Instagram Followers After Controversial Ad appeared first on Reality Tea.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”