Sharon Stone Stands Up for Sydney Sweeney: Use What Mama Gave You

Sydney Sweeney caught heat for a jeans ad, and Sharon Stone is not having it. Stone jumped in with a very Sharon Stone defense that boils down to: being hot is hard, use it while you got it.

The American Eagle dust-up

Earlier this year, Sweeney did an American Eagle campaign with the tagline: 'Sydney Sweeney has great genes.' The internet pounced immediately, with critics arguing the slogan played into white supremacy and reduced her to her body. Very online, very loud, very fast.

Stone weighs in

'It is hard to be hot... It is okay to use what mama gave you... Everybody has their own kind of hotness, and you are supposed to go for that. Because who are you not to be beautiful? Who you are is not an accident.'

That is Stone, talking to Variety, basically telling Sweeney (and everyone else) to lean into whatever makes them, well, them. Agree or not, it is a clear, unapologetic stance.

The Jane Goodall anecdote (yes, really)

Stone also shared a story she says came from being co-godparents with Jane Goodall. And yes, that phrase made me do a double-take too. According to Stone, when Goodall landed the Life Magazine cover for her gorilla research, some scientists sneered that she only got it because she had great legs. Goodall’s reported response: if that helped raise more money for her work, then great.

Stone says Sweeney took that same energy about the American Eagle ad and told her: 'Yeah, and I am sure I made a billion dollars for the jeans company, and I am good with that. Because, you know what? I will get another job.'

For extra context, Stone says that when the controversy kicked off, she and Sweeney were in production on the third season of Euphoria. Make of that what you will.

Career momentum check

Whatever you think about the ad, Sweeney’s schedule is not slowing down:

• Christy (in theaters Nov 7): Sweeney plays real-life boxer Christy Martin in a sports biopic. It premiered at TIFF earlier this year; critic Chris Bumbray did not buy the 'this is pure Oscar bait' chatter, but he did come away convinced her acting chops are the real deal.
• The Housemaid (in theaters Dec 19): A thriller from Paul Feig, with Sweeney starring opposite Amanda Seyfried.
• Bond rumor mill: There are murmurs she could show up as a Bond girl in the next 007 outing. File under interesting but unconfirmed.

Bottom line: Sweeney is in the middle of a classic celebrity whiplash cycle — backlash, defense, new projects, repeat — and Stone is firmly in her corner. Whether you buy the message or not, it is a rare bit of old-school Hollywood bluntness cutting through the noise.