Hollywood producer Carol Baum recently said “she didn’t get” why actress Sydney Sweeney is so popular.

“I don’t get Sydney Sweeney,” said Baum. “I said to my class, ‘Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?’” Baum bemoaned. 

[Big] Naturally, the producer’s comments were followed by a flood of social media users rushing to Sweeney’s defense, with consensus settling on the position that the two-time Emmy-winning blonde bombshell can, in fact, act and is, in fact, pretty. 

But Baum’s comments are revealing, and require consideration. The truth may be less that Baum doesn’t “get” the actress but more that she doesn’t want her. That Baum, an octogenarian Jewish woman, isn’t fond of a young, attractive, and — the horror — blonde-haired, blue-eyed starlet is not entirely surprising.

Baum’s remarks are emblematic of the casual, anti-white racism that infests Hollywood. Sweeney represents everything the gatekeepers of culture despise.

THE DEATH OF WOKE? 

Some conservative commentators have asserted that the busty Hollywood starlet, who is clearly not afraid to display her femininity, represents the “death of woke.” The Spectator claimed her rising star represented a “return to real body positivity.”

“It was the 1990s and early 2000s. We had Pamela Anderson and Baywatch. Jennifer Love Hewitt graced the cover of Maxim with her boobs. Our supermodels – like Tyra Banks and Cindy Crawford – had curves,” wrote Bridget Phestasy.

A headline in the Canadian newspaper The National Post was less couth, running a headline asking, “Are Sydney Sweeney’s breasts double-D harbingers of the death of woke?”

But Sweeney’s curves and fondness for showing them off don’t quite explain why some may dislike the actress so much.

Indeed, despite the best efforts of third-wave feminists, attractive, well-endowed women have never not been popular. Nor are there many — if any — popular actresses who aren’t also incredibly attractive. Actresses like Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jenna Ortega are undoubtedly talented, but it’s obvious that it was not talent alone that propelled these women to stardom.

Nor have “curvy” women been unpopular before Sweeney hit the scene. In today’s culture, however, “women with curves” is often a euphemism for “women of color” or women who are just plain fat, of which Sweeney is neither. Celebrities such as the Kardashians, Lizzo, Rhianna, and Selena Gomez have plenty of curves. But none of them are white women. Sweeney is curvy, but she’s the wrong kind of curvy.

It is unlikely, however, that Sweeney’s undeniable “whiteness” and bra size are the sole reasons why she is disliked by some. So what makes her so different? Perhaps it is because she is not only white, attractive, feminine, and blonde but was also privately educated, raised in small-town America, and by all accounts, comes from a conservative-leaning, religious family.  

Born in Spokane, Washington, Sweeney was raised in northern Idaho. She attended Saint George’s School, a private preparatory school in Spokane. In 2021, speaking of her audition for the incredibly graphic show Euphoria, Sweeney said, “I grew up in a smaller town with my family, who are a little more conservative, and I was like, ‘They’re going to kill me if I do something like this.”

In 2022, the actress courted further controversy after posting photos from her mother’s birthday party in Spokane. Guests were wearing MAGA-inspired hats, and one guest, with whom Sweeney was photographed, was wearing a Blue Lives Matter t-shirt. Progressive keyboard warriors accused her family of “white supremacy” and predicted the incident would cost Sweeney her career.

Any other actress might have cowed to the mob and issued a public apology, distancing herself from the other partygoers. Such apologies have become so common that one can imagine precisely how hers might have gone: “I’m so sorry for the hurt the photograph may have caused. The views expressed by some people at my mom’s birthday do not represent my own. I regret posing for that photo, and I am gaining a better understanding of how my actions may affect and hurt LGBTQ/black/brown people/immigrants and other underrepresented communities.” 

NO APOLOGIES. 

But Sweeney made no such apology, and she did not feel obliged to suddenly become a spokeswoman for the progressive left.

On social media she posted: “You guys this is wild. An innocent celebration for my moms milestone 60th birthday has turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention. Please stop making assumptions. Much love to everyone and Happy Birthday Mom!”

Reflecting on the controversy, she told British GQ, “Honestly I feel like nothing I say can help the conversation.”

As for her reaction to Baum’s comments, Sweeney responded to the Hollywood producer with some healthy internet trolling. The actress posted a photo of herself on Instagram this week wearing a sweatshirt with the words “Sorry For Having Great T**s” emblazoned across it.

Taken together, all of this may be why some dislike Sweeney. She is a very white, very attractive actress who sticks to her lane. She takes pride in her looks and where she comes from and will not apologize for either. And, perhaps most egregiously, she doesn’t feel pressured into parroting ‘Officially Approved’ political talking points. Simply put, stars like Sydney Sweeney aren’t supposed to exist anymore.