Sydney Sweeney’s new movie Christy bombs as GQ interview goes viral – for the wrong reasons
TikTok users have been mocking Sydney Sweeney’s latest interview, and her new movie is a box office flop (TikTok/Getty/Black Bear)
TikTok users have been mocking Sydney Sweeney's latest interview, and her new movie is a box office flop (TikTok/Getty/Black Bear)
If you think you’re having a bad start to the week, the chances are that Christy star Sydney Sweeney is having a worse one.
The biopic starring Sydney Sweeney as lesbian boxer Christy Martin has flopped at the box office while, at the same time, a recent interview she did with GQ is being widely mocked online.
Christy follows the titular boxer as she transforms from a closeted West Virginia teen to becoming a super-middleweight boxing champion, as well as covering her troubled relationship with coach and husband Jim Martin (Ben Foster).
The film was released in 2011 cinemas in the US but grossed only $1.3 million (£998,000). According to Box Office Mojo, that puts it among the worst box-office openings on more than 2000 screens.
There has also been a mixed critical reaction. The film currently has a 67 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. Out of 138 reviews, 92 are positive (fresh) while 46 are negative (rotten).
Sweeney’s American Eagle controversy
In July, Euphoria star Sweeney made headlines for featuring in an American Eagle campaign. The tagline was: Sydney Sweeney has great jeans. That line sparked a backlash involving racism and eugenics.
Before Christy was released, GQ published an interview with Sweeney in which she discussed, or more accurately swerved, a conversation about the controversy.
Asked by GQ’s features director Kat Stoeffel if she surprised by the reaction, Sweeney responded: “I did a jean ad. The reaction definitely was a surprise but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m in jeans and a t-shirt every day of my life.”
It was “surreal” that the US president and vice-president became involved in the conversation around the advert, she continued.
Stoeffel went on to say: “The criticism of the content, which is that maybe, specifically in this political climate, white people shouldn’t joke about genetic superiority, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to talk about that specifically.”
Sweeney replied: “When I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.”
The interview has gone viral, with a ton of parody clips appearing on TikTok over the weekend. Users mocked Sweeney’s apparent lack of interest in clearing the air about the controversy, and her wooden tone and delivery, amongst other things:
@michaelpavano Sydney Sweeney is unbothered 😭 #satire #parody #impressions #sydneysweeney #comedyvideos ♬ original sound – Michael Pavano
@thesnackslut Verbatim (ish) This post reached the proud boys & girls huh? #sydneysweeney #sydneysweeneyinterview ♬ original sound – Corinne 🇵🇸
Another viral video suggested that the GQ interview was “good PR handed to her on a silver platter”, which they allege Sydney Sweeney still managed to fumble:
@funkyfrogbait Jearns ur parssed dowrn frm prentss to uvspring #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #funny #sydneysweeney ♬ original sound – Kal McRaven
The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood also weighed in, though not on TikTok. Instead, she left a vomiting emoji on a YouTube clip of the interview.
Christy was released in the US last week and is due to open in the UK on 28 November.
