Matt Vespa
Role at the time: Managing editor, Townhall
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Townhall managing editor Matt Vespa defended Sydney Sweeney's appearance in the Novig ad, writing "it's her body, her choice" and dismissing critics as jealous.
“It's her body, her choice... Is it me, or are women just jealous of Sweeney?”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Townhall: "Meltdown Over Sydney Sweeney Novig Ad"
Townhall op-ed by managing editor Matt Vespa defending Sweeney against the backlash over the Novig ad.
Why we used this label
Vespa explicitly defends Sweeney's choice to appear in the ad and dismisses the backlash as hypocritical jealousy, a direct defense of the ad against the criticism it drew.