“Euphoria” actress Sydney Sweeney clapped back at the film producer who said she was “not pretty” and not good at her job.
Carol Baum, best known for her work with Dolly Parton’s TV and film production company Sandollar Productions, made her observations about Sweeney during a “Dead Ringers” (1988) film screening on April 11. The producer spoke with New York Times critic Janet Maslin during a Q&A, saying she was underwhelmed by Sweeney’s romantic comedy “Anyone But You,” which she said she had watched recently on an airplane.
“I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her,” Baum said, per The Daily Mail. “I watched this unwatchable movie — sorry to people who love this movie — (this) romantic comedy where they hate each other.”
The executive producer, who has worked in the industry since the late 1980s, also teaches at the University of Southern California. “I said to my class, ‘Explain this girl to me,’” Baum continued. “She’s not pretty. She can’t act. Why is she so hot?”
Sweeney’s rep responded with a statement to USA Today blasting Baum for her comments.
“How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman,” the actress’s rep said. “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.”
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Maslin also addressed the comments going viral with an X post shared on Tuesday. “We brought up ‘Anyone But You’ because it’s been the rare smash hit rom-com at a time when they aren’t working,” the NYT critic wrote. “Not because we wanted to take cheap shots at anyone.”
Plenty of fans and coworkers took the opportunity to heap praise on Sweeney.
“Immaculate” producer Teddy Schwarzman wrote on X, “I’ll enlighten Ms. Baum that two-time Emmy nominee Sydney Sweeney is not only one of the most talented actresses I’ve worked with, but also incredibly smart, kind and humble. I’m not sure why someone who claims to still be a producer would make such terribly ugly comments, but I can assure everyone that Sydney is at least beautiful on the inside.”