There’s a line in the Variety profile of Sydney Sweeney that recalls this photo shoot, and says she’s giving vibes of a classic ’90s Cosmo girl. I actually don’t think that’s accurate, based on my remembrances of Cosmo in the 1990s (here is but one), but my point is: Maybe that’s why this feels so… tired? Put the hot girl on the cover with food — this is more of a recent Cosmo obsession, actually — and then have her lick her fingers suggestively. It’s just… kind of boring? Sydney Sweeney is so much more than that, but instead, they stuck her in a bikini and made her sit on a block of ice. There’s no wit or subversion to this, and for me that’s what’s missing; you can celebrate the sexy aspects of Sydney Sweeney while also poking at the fact that people always want to pigeonhole her into that place. The profile is much more far-ranging and interesting. I came away with… a couple questions about whether her parents are making her feel like shit for pursuing the acting thing?
She finally booked a major role on the 2018 Netflix teen series “Everything Sucks,” followed by attention-getting parts on “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Sharp Objects.” But as Sweeney was following her ambitions, her parents divorced and filed for bankruptcy. “My parents sacrificed so much to support my dream, and they lost so much during it. I just felt a responsibility to show them that it was worth it,” she says.
Did the sacrifices her parents made contribute to these crises? “I’ll never know,” she says. Her eyes are wide; the brilliant constructor of character is unmistakably, now, herself. “I think as a kid, as the eldest, I feel a responsibility,” she continues. “They’ll say no, or they’ll say yes, depending on what fight it is. But I’ll always feel responsible.” She pauses. “But that’s OK.”
… IS IT THOUGH? Is it? She’s made a lot of comments about how she can’t afford to stop working, and I think that paragraph illuminates those quite a lot, but I also want to give her a hug and say that she is NOT responsible for her parents’ emotional or financial decisions. They were adults and they should not put that on her, ever, no matter what the fight is. Justice for Sydney!
