Sydney Sweeney Calls Out Hollywood’s Fake ‘Women Empowering Women’ Culture

Sydney Sweeney, the 27-year-old actress known for her roles in ‘Euphoria‘ and ‘The White Lotus,’ has spoken out against the perceived facade of female empowerment in Hollywood. In an interview with Vanity Fair for their 2025 Hollywood Issue, published on November 13, Sweeney expressed her frustration with the industry’s mantra of ‘women empowering other women,’ calling it “fake” and a “front.”

Sweeney highlighted the disheartening reality of women in the industry tearing each other down, particularly when successful women criticize younger talent. “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,” she said.

The actress pointed to a generational problem where women are raised to believe that only one woman can be at the top, leading to a competitive rather than supportive environment. “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,” Sweeney explained. “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.'”

Sweeney’s comments were also prompted by a recent incident where veteran Hollywood producer Carol Baum publicly criticized her acting abilities and physical appearance. Baum, during a panel discussion, described Sweeney’s movie ‘Anyone But You‘ as “unwatchable” and questioned why Sweeney was popular despite her perceived lack of acting talent and physical attractiveness. A representative for Sweeney responded to Baum’s comments, calling them “shameful” and criticizing Baum for teaching such behavior to her students.