Ebanie Bridges defends Sydney Sweeney amid backlash over gambling ad
Boxer Ebanie Bridges defended actress Sydney Sweeney amid backlash over her nude sports gambling advertisement, questioning the criticism from women athletes. Bridges argued the outrage was misplaced compared to issues like transgender athletes in women's sports. Bridges, a former IBF bantamweight champion known for racy weigh-in outfits, shared a mocked-up image of herself in a Novig ad on Instagram. She said Sweeney is not an athlete and the ad promotes gambling, not sport, adding that critics were "too scared" to address bigger competition fairness issues. Many of Bridges' 775,000 followers supported her take, with some noting past nude poses by athletes like Ronda Rousey and Serena Williams drew less criticism. Bridges called the backlash a "thinly veiled political attack" and praised a comment agreeing with her stance.