A top Hollywood executive has sparked outrage after criticizing Sydney Sweeney's appearance and acting skills.
The 26-year-old Hollywood actress solidified her spot in the film industry following the success of her character Cassie Howard in HBO's drama series, Euphoria. The role earned her first Emmy nomination in 2022.
Sydney was nominated once again in 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.
Following on from her TV drama accomplishments, the young star went on to feature in the 2023 romantic-comedy film, Anyone But You, 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 Anyone But You on an airplane, Hollywood producer Carol Baum, who is behind movies like Father of the Bride, made scathing comments about Sweeney.
According to the Daily Mail, Baum reportedly said: "I don’t get Sydney Sweeney," to an audience at the Jacob Burns Center in Pleasantville, New York City, after a recent film screening of her 1988 film Dead Ringers.
"I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her," the producer explained, adding that the flick was "unwatchable".
Furthermore, Baum shared that her students at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts couldn’t give a satisfactory reason why the Euphoria 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."
Many fans of the actress took to their social media to slam Baum, who has produced 34 films starring the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas, and Dolly Parton, for her hurtful comments.
One user hit back: "Carol Baum needs her eyes checked and head examined lol," while another chimed in: "Someone is a bit jealous.....Obviously she is beautiful and can act."
A third user pointed out: "She has multiple Emmy nominations and she’s in her mid-20s. Claiming she can’t act is wild."
A fourth added: "The need for certain people to tear down attractive, successful women is so odd. If this person isn’t to your liking, just move on."
Despite Baum's words, she bizarrely confessed 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."
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