Sydney Sweeney is a rising star in Hollywood right now. She’s recently appeared in several film projects, and she’s got many more lined up.
With success comes people who are looking to drag them down. This happens everywhere, even outside of Hollywood.
Last week veteran Hollywood producer Carol Baum said at an event that Sweeney is “not pretty” and “can’t act.” She also commented on her hit rom-com Anyone but You, saying it was “unwatchable.”
Baum, who has produced films such as Dead Ringers, Father of the Bride and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, made these comments about Sweeney during a discussion in Pleasantville, N.Y., with New York Times film critic Janet Maslin.
According to the Daily Mail, Baum said, “There’s an actress who everybody loves now: Sydney Sweeney. I don’t get Sydney Sweeney. I was watching on the plane Sydney Sweeney’s movie [Anyone but You] because I wanted to watch it.
“I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her. I watched this unwatchable movie — sorry to people who love this … romantic comedy where they hate each other.”
Baum, who is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, continued: “I said to my class, ‘Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?’ Nobody had an answer.”
She added: “But then the question was asked, ‘Well, if you could get your movie made because she was in it, would you do it?’ … That’s a very hard question to answer because we all want to get the movie made and who walks away from a green light? Nobody I know. Your job is to get the movie made.”
A representative for Sweeney has since fired back at Baum, saying in a statement to Variety: “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. To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms. Baum’s character.”
The actress’s acting coach, Scott Sedita, also came to her defense saying: “She’s been through the ups and downs of this business.
“So you have to be pretty much a serious actress if you’re gonna go through all that. When taking feedback or critique, she processes it, uses her acting technique and makes the adjustment.”
He went on to say: “Sydney is beautiful because she has inner depth, intellect, compassion, style and facial features — eyes, smile, cheekbones — that the camera angles pick up on.
“The camera loves her ‘look’ as well as the audience. Audiences love her because she’s relatable and approachable.”
While a lot of people feel the same way about Sweeney as Baum does, she is kind of the star of the moment, and it’s safe to say we’re going to be seeing more and more of her.