Sydney Sweeney is one of our era’s biggest celebrities. The movie and television actor has starred in huge projects, such as Euphoria and The White Lotus, and was even named IMDB’s most popular figure of 2024.
Yet, as seemingly beloved as she is, almost everyone in the public eye has to deal with vicious online comments. This hit a fever pitch over the past few days when the actor was flooded with negative comments after images of her in a bikini spread across the internet.
I won’t share the Sydney Sweeney photos in this piece, as it appears they were taken from afar and without her consent. What I will share, though, is a post the actor made on her Instagram documenting some of the cruel comments she received:
The online reaction around the Sydney Sweeney bikini photos is a prime example of how the internet enables abusive behavior and has standardized public shaming, especially for famous figures.
Before we get to that point though, let’s look a little closer at what happened.