Sydney Sweeney's bathwater soap isn't the empowering move she thinks it is
I thought we'd put an end to body-scented celebrity products with Gwyneth Paltrow's vagina candle… unfortunately not.
This week it was announced that White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney has extended her tie-in with men's soap brand Dr. Squatch (she previously pouted suggestively in a bath in an advert) to make her actual bathwater into a soap.
The whole thing has left me feeling, well, dirty, and all in a lather.
Because, unlike Gwyneth's candle (which nobody asked for), it feels as if the 27-year-old is selling this product to meet the wishes of the worst, most seedy, parts of her fandom.
In fact, Dr. Squatch's reason for making this product is because: 'y'all wouldn't stop asking. And Sydney said, 'Let's do it.' (what a legend)'.
But even if online lurkers indeed wouldn't stop asking, Sweeney could have been far more of a legend by saying 'Let's not do it.'
Because, while making money off her fans' fetishes might seem like a win for the actress, I can't see it as anything other than a loss.
A useful test for whether something is truly empowering is whether those with power are doing it. It's difficult to imagine Sweeney's male equivalent – Timothée Chalamet, say, or Glen Powell – giving the nod to such a seedy project, no matter how many people were campaigning for its creation.
And the sad thing is that Sweeney is no airhead that's oblivious to her misogynistic treatment, but is keenly aware of and pained by the oversexualisation she's subjected to.
'People feel connected and free to be able to speak about me in whatever way they want, because they believe that I've signed my life away. That I'm not on a human level anymore, because I'm an actor,' she told Variety. 'It's this weird relationship that people have with me that I have no control or say over.'
Since first appearing in Euphoria, her body has been in constant discussion – someone has set up an X account that just shares pictures of her boobs (it has over 30k followers) – and her love life speculated over in a way I thought we'd moved past 20 years ago.
And while it could be argued this bathwater soap is her way of taking control, it actually just empowers her fans to realise they can continue to sexualise her and make further demands on the actress to fulfil their desires.
I'm far from judging Sweeney from taking on side gigs. She's previously been frank about the motivation for her ventures. 'If I just acted, I wouldn't be able to afford my life in LA. I take deals because I have to,' she told the Hollywood Reporter back in 2022.
She's also spoken candidly about her modest beginnings, saying that the pressure on her family to travel back and forth from Washington to LA, and then to move to Hollywood, to support her fledgling film career led to her father going bankrupt and her parents divorcing.
Such childhood trauma leaves a lifetime mark, and Sweeney certainly doesn't deserve slut-shaming for her commercial choices.
But let's also be clear that this latest move is indeed a choice. Sweeney is a successful and in-demand actor, with Euphoria, Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and darkly satirical gem The White Lotus on her sparkling CV.
She is said to have earned $750,00 for her role in 2024's Madame Web, the fourth film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, and her promotional portfolio runs from fashion and skincare to bikinis.
In 2024, she reportedly bought a $13.5 million oceanfront Florida mansion, replete with aquarium and 520-bottle wine room.
So if she's flogging her bathwater, it's because she wants to – and I think that is a bad decision.
Some argue that it turns the tables for women to profit from such objectification. While in the past, the proceeds of starlets trading off their sexuality went largely to male photographers, magazine publishers and so on, today – woo-hoo! – sisters are doing it for themselves!
And to some extent, I agree.
Well played to the women who take their piece of the pie and become entrepreneurial power players in the Only Fans-ification of fame. More Trending
But I also think, especially in this case, that it's not always true.
An established star like Sweeney does have control: She could turn down these kind of deals – which I think are degrading – rather than making a buck from the demands of the creepier corners of her fanbase.
The star is quoted in the press release as saying, 'It's weird in the best way'.
No, Sydney. It's weird in the worst way, and you should wash your hands of this sexy soap venture and earn your money with your skills, not your suds.
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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