Sydney Sweeney Exposes ‘Fake’ Hollywood Girlbosses Not Truly Supporting Women!

Since her breakthrough performance in HBO’s “Euphoria,” Sydney Sweeney has continued to showcase her diverse talents beyond her physical appearance.

In recent history, the “White Lotus” actress has broadened her career portfolio to highlight her acting prowess while also producing films such as “Immaculate” and “Anyone but You.” Despite her diligent efforts, the 27-year-old starlet admits that she feels the support for female creatives in Hollywood, particularly from seasoned female professionals, is merely superficial.

“The whole industry keeps saying, ‘Women empowering women.’ But it’s not happening,” she revealed to Vanity Fair in a Wednesday interview. “It’s all a façade to cover up the mean things they say behind everyone’s backs.”

Sweeney, who launched Fifty-Fifty Films, criticised Hollywood’s purported false feminism following a dismissive comment made by “Father of the Bride” producer Carol Baum about her star quality.

At a New York screening of her 1988 movie “Dead Ringers” in April, Baum questioned, “[Sweeney’s] not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so popular?” In response, Sweeney’s representatives fired back, expressing their disappointment “that a woman in a position to share her wisdom and experience instead chooses to criticize another woman.”

“If that’s what [Baum’s] gleaned from her years in the industry and thinks is suitable to pass on to her students, it’s disgraceful,” a representative for Sweeney told The Times in April. “To unfairly belittle a fellow female producer says a lot about Ms. Baum’s character.”

Though Baum reportedly felt remorse for her comments, the hurt caused by her words has evidently lingered for Sweeney.

“It’s extremely disheartening to witness women pulling each other down, particularly when successful women in different sectors of the industry see a young talent working hard,” Sweeney stated in Vanity Fair’s 2025 Hollywood issue.

Sweeney suggested that this competitive instinct and the tendency to discredit and exclude other women might be a characteristic, not a flaw, of Hollywood. This could be a “generational issue,” she added, where women are raised to believe there can only be one successful woman, whether she’s winning the man or making strides in her career. “There’s room for only one woman to be, well, anything,” she further explained.

Without mentioning Baum directly, Sweeney told the magazine she’s just doing her utmost to keep forging ahead in her career. Yet, she questioned, “Why am I being targeted?”

Prior to the Baum incident, the twice Emmy-nominated actress had been open about her journey to Hollywood, sharing with The Times in 2022 that it hadn’t been a walk in the park. For a period, she noted, she was simply “struggling, struggling, struggling [for roles].” The stress of adolescence was compounded by the pressure of the entertainment industry when she started acting as a teenager.

“When you’re 16 and you’re not comfortable with yourself, and you’re grappling with all the changes in your body and your hormones, and people are telling you that you’re not enough — that burden is immense,” Sweeney reflected at the time.

Despite feeling unsupported by other women in Hollywood, Sweeney told The Times she’s grateful for her parents “who always believed in me, no matter what.”

This report includes contributions from Times staff writer Nardine Saad.