Sydney Sweeney has hit back at the top Hollywood executive who took aim at her appearance and acting skills.
Baum is a producer known for her work on the 1988 thriller Dead Ringers, the 1991 comedy Father of the Bride, and the original 1992 film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The 81-year-old recently sparked outrage after sharing a scathing review of Sweeney's 2023 romantic-comedy film, Anyone But You, in which she stars alongside Glen Powell.
Despite the movie's lukewarm critiques, it ended up leading the box office, accumulating more than $200 million worldwide. It also became the highest-grossing R-rated romantic comedy since 2016's Bridget Jones’s Baby, as reported by Variety.
After watching the comedy film on a plane, the Hollywood producer shared her honest opinion in front of a live audience at the Jacob Burns Center in Pleasantville, New York City.
According to Daily Mail, Baum reportedly said: "I don’t get Sydney Sweeney," and explained: "I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her."
She described the 26-year-old actress' lighthearted flick as "unwatchable" and said that her students at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts couldn’t give a satisfactory reason why the star's career had taken off.
"I said to my class, 'Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?'" she recalled. "Nobody had an answer."
However, the producer bizarrely admitted that she would take on a project if the Handmaid's Tale actress starred in it. "We all want to get the movie made and who walks away from a green light? Nobody I know," she said. "Your job is to get the movie made."
Sweeney's rise to fame began in 2019 after starring as Cassie Howard in HBO's successful drama series, Euphoria. The role earned her her first Emmy nomination in 2022.
She was nominated once again at the same award ceremony, this time for her role as Olivia Mossbacher in season 1 of The White Lotus, in which she starred alongside Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, and Murray Bartlett.
The young actress hit back at Baum in a statement shared by her representative, lambasting the producer for attacking another woman in the industry.
As cited by E! News, Sweeney's rep said: "How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman."
"If that's what she's learned in her decades in the industry and feels is appropriate to teach to her students, that's shameful," they continued. "To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms. Baum's character."
Sweeney has also been defended by Teddy Schwarzman, a co-producer on her new horror film Immaculate.
"I’ll enlighten Ms. Baum that two-time Emmy nominee Sydney Sweeney is not only one of the most talented actresses I’ve worked with," Schwarzman wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "but also incredibly smart, kind and humble."
"I’m not sure why someone who claims to still be a producer would make such terribly ugly comments, but I can assure everyone that Sydney is at least beautiful on the inside. And, of course, a badass Scream Queen," he added.
Sweeney's latest film Immaculate is out in theaters now.
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