Actress Sydney Sweeney opened up about her struggle with body acceptance at an early age in an interview with the Sun.
The 25-year-old starlet from Spokane, Washington recalled being scrutinized shortly after having played the role of Cassie Howard in HBO's Euphoria, also starring Zendaya.
In school, Sweeney said she was body-shamed for early development.
“I had boobs before other girls, and I felt ostracized for it," she recalled.
The criticism continued into her acting career.
Her Euphoria character, who is haunted by her sexual history, had nude scenes in the show, which was the subject of a plotline where her naked videos were being shared in school.
Unfortunately, the situation mirrored real life when trolls shared screenshots of many of her suggestive scenes from the show.
Sweeney said:
“You have a character that goes through the scrutiny of being a sexualised person at school and then an audience that does the same thing."
"I think it’s ridiculous. I’m an artist, I play characters. It makes me want to play characters that p**s people off more.”
She said she felt that her skills and talent were diminished by those who focused more on her physical features.
“I have big boobs, I’m blonde, and that’s all I have,” quoted Sweeney of those who credited her Hollywood successes to her physical attributes.
Here are examples of unsympathetic trolls responding to the actress opening up about a vulnerable topic.
Other social media users defended Sweeney.
Those who found her experience relatable also weighed in and said Sweeney had every right to be candid on the topic of body image and how it affected her.
Sweeney began her career with guest spots in TV shows like 90210 and Grey's Anatomy.
She gained further attention after landing starring roles in shows like Everything Sucks! (2018), The Handmaid's Tale (2018), and Sharp Objects (2018).
The actress earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress–one for her work as Cassie Howard in HBO's Euphoria and another for playing a sardonic teen in the first season of White Lotus, also from HBO.
