‘Christie’ star Sidney Sweeney says she was bullied as a child
Sidney Sweeney and Ben Foster talk with USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa about the movie “Christie” and their childhoods.
Ruby Rose claims Sidney Sweeney’s performance is the reason her new film Christie is the worst-grossing movie of all time.
The sports biopic, which stars the “Euphoria” star on screen as pioneering professional boxer Christy Martin, debuted with $1.3 million after its Nov. 7 release, according to Box Office Mojo. It ranks 12th on the list of worst wide openings among films released in over 2,000 theaters, and 9th when excluding rereleases.
In a threaded post on Monday, Nov. 10, the Orange Is the New Black alum blamed Sweeney for the lack of success of the film, which centers on an openly lesbian former boxing pro, and also revealed that she was originally in talks to star in the film.
“The original Christy Martin script was amazing. It changed my life,” Rose wrote. “I was obsessed with playing Cherry. Everyone was going through the main material. Most of us were actually gay. That’s part of the reason I continued acting. Losing a role happens all the time.”
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Sweeney and Rose for comment.
The “Batwoman” actor, who is also openly lesbian, slammed Sweeney’s comments following news of the box office flop. Sweeney reflected on how “proud” it was to tell Martin’s story, adding, “We don’t always make art for the numbers, we make it for the impact. Christie is the most impactful project of my life.”
“When her publicist talks about the failures and says the SS did it for the ‘people’. No ‘people’ want to see people who hate them parading around pretending to be us,” Rose continued.
In August, after a controversial jeans ad campaign with American Eagle, The Guardian reported that Sweeney was registered as a Republican voter in Florida, months before President Donald Trump won a second term in the White House.
“You’re a cretin and you’ve ruined the movie. I totally get it,” Rose concluded. “Christy deserves better.”
What does Christy Martin say about Sidney Sweeney?
Martin praised his portrayal of Sweeney in the biopic. Martin said at the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, “I’m actually very shy, very reserved, and I want to help everyone if I can. In the boxing world, I wanted to knock everyone out. So there are those two parts of my personality. And I think that’s why Sydney Sweeney does such a great job, because she was able to become a completely different person that no one expected.”
Regarding Sweeney’s role, Martin added that Sweeney “wasn’t the beautiful, sexy Sydney. In this movie, she was the tough, strong Christie, which I think is great.”
On Monday, Nov. 10, Sweeney shared a behind-the-scenes photo on Instagram, saying she was proud to tell Martin’s story.
“This film represents survival, courage and hope. Through our campaign, we have helped raise awareness of the many people affected by domestic violence. We all signed on to this film believing that Christie’s story can save lives,” she said.
Sidney Sweeney calls President Trump’s reaction to controversial jeans ad ‘surreal’
Rose’s post comes in the wake of controversy surrounding Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans ad campaign. In an interview with GQ published on Nov. 4, the 28-year-old actor finally commented on the reaction to the American Eagle ad, which critics called tone-deaf and offensive.
Sweeney said she was surprised by the reaction, but said she had distanced herself from much of the chatter due to her busy filming schedule for “Euphoria.” She also said it was “unreal” to see both President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance commenting on her commercial.
On August 3, after a reporter revealed Sweeney’s political affiliation, Trump called the ad “amazing.”
The Emmy-nominated actress and her July ad faced intense scrutiny because it played on the homonyms of “genes” and “jeans.” In the commercial, Sweeney says, “Genes are passed from parent to child and often determine traits such as hair color, personality, and even eye color.” The commercial also touted that Sweeney “has great jeans.”
“When I have an issue that I want to talk about, people will listen,” she told GQ. She said the situation “didn’t affect me either way” because “after all, I knew what that ad was for, and it was great jeans.”
Contributor: Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
