Co-founder and CEO of Novig, a U.S. sports prediction market.
Case
Sydney Sweeney, an equity holder in sports-prediction platform Novig, starred in a nude ad campaign that female athletes say sexualizes women's sport. Novig's CEO and a Guardian columnist publicly disputed that characterization.
Role at the time: Co-founder and CEO, Novig
Statement summary
Novig CEO Jacob Fortinsky said the campaign never intended to portray women’s sport and that Sweeney drove its creative direction.
“We never intended to portray female sports. Sydney’s an actress, the biggest movie star in the world. We’re a prediction market that is focused on sports, and that is the story that she was communicating... It really was Sydney who was driving the visuals and the messaging.”
Fortinsky defends the campaign as never having intended to portray women’s sport and frames the backlash as expected and not a fair reading of the ad’s purpose — an express defense of the conduct under scrutiny.
Statement dates: September 15, 2026
