Cassidy Gray says the ad wipes away female athletes' work to be taken seriously
Cassidy GrayCanadian alpine skier; 2026 Winter Olympian
In a TikTok video, Cassidy Gray said the ad was not a joke for female athletes who are sexualized or not taken seriously, and that it wiped away their work to be taken seriously. CBC reports she called Sweeney's Instagram response to the backlash "idiotic" and "senseless."
“It’s not a joke when your life is actually you being a female athlete, and you being sexualized or not taken seriously and not given the same opportunities, and then you see one of the most famous actresses in the world going and completely wiping away all the work that you have done to be taken seriously... I fear you’re just out of touch, because it really is that deep.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Sydney Sweeney’s Novig "Just Sports" ad draws backlash over sexualizing women’s sport
Novig, a U.S. sports prediction market in which Sydney Sweeney is a strategic partner and equity holder, released a "Just Sports" ad campaign on September 9, 2026, in which Sweeney appears nude or minimally clothed while covering herself with sports equipment. The ad drew public criticism from a number of female athletes, who said it sexualizes women’s sport; Novig’s CEO and at least one columnist publicly disputed that characterization.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
CBC News report quoting Cassidy Gray’s TikTok video and Molly Carlson’s Instagram post, plus Jacob Fortinsky’s launch-day quote.
Before the quotation
Posted in a TikTok video on or around September 14, 2026, after Sweeney responded to the backlash on Instagram with magazine covers of athletes posing in little clothing.
After the quotation
Quoted and described directly by CBC News.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Gray says the ad wipes away female athletes' work to be taken seriously and rejects the framing of it as a harmless joke, an express denunciation of the ad.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Novig, Sydney Sweeney
More from this case
Read the full caseJones and co-authors criticize sexualization and gambling appeals in Novig's ad
“The ad captures two troubling trends: how routinely women’s bodies are sexualized in digital media and how gambling companies use sexual appeal, and the implied promise of romantic or sexual reward, to target young men.”Read statement
Fortinsky renews his defense of Novig's Sweeney ad
“Ultimately, I think we have nothing to apologize for and are very proud of the work that we did,”Read statement
Calkins defends the ad as sex-appeal marketing
“It was an ad that used sex appeal to catch the eye of a mostly-male market — not a "kick in the face" to female athletes, as four-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Ariarne Titmus suggested.”Read statement
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- Cassidy Gray says the ad wipes away female athletes' work to be taken seriously
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The Dispute Index. "Cassidy Gray says the ad wipes away female athletes' work to be taken seriously". First published: 2026-09-16. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/702-in-a-tiktok-video-cassidy-gray-said-the