Sydney Sweeney's Instagram account recorded a net decline of 203,294 followers over two days as criticism continued over her nearly nude Novig sports campaign, according to Social Blade figures cited by The Independent.
The tracker recorded a drop of 136,848 followers on Sunday, 13 September, followed by another 66,446 on Monday. Sunday was also the day the 29-year-old actor shared photographs of athletes who had posed nude or semi-nude.
Sweeney's Instagram Stories featured Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe and Caroline Wozniacki. She also shared photographs of male sports stars, including Rob Gronkowski, Jason Kelce, Myles Garrett and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Sweeney did not explain why she shared the images. Their timing led several outlets to describe them as an apparent response to athletes who had criticised the Novig campaign for sexualising women in sport.
However, neither the Instagram Stories nor Social Blade's follower data establishes why Sweeney's account lost followers.
The 200K Drop Was Partly Reversed
The two-day decline represented less than 1 percent of Sweeney's Instagram audience, which remained above 25 million followers.
The Independent reported that Social Blade data later showed Sweeney regaining more than 116,000 followers. The 200,000 figure therefore represents the gross decline recorded across the sharpest two-day period, rather than a permanent loss of that size.
Social Blade is also a third-party analytics service. Its figures track changes in an account's follower total but cannot establish why the number changed.
That distinction matters because a falling follower count does not necessarily represent voluntary unfollows alone. Deleted or suspended accounts and other platform-level changes can also affect the total.
Why Female Athletes Objected to the Novig Ad
Novig unveiled 'Just Sports,' its first national brand campaign, on 9 September.
The commercial shows Sweeney wearing little or no clothing while strategically placed sports equipment covers parts of her body. Novig said the campaign was intended to cut through the wider noise surrounding prediction markets and focus solely on sport.
'The concept is simple: cut through the noise and put the focus entirely on sports,' Sweeney said in Novig's announcement.
Sweeney is also more than the face of the campaign. Novig named her a strategic partner and equity holder.
Several female athletes criticised the advert, arguing that it presented sport through a sexualised celebrity image rather than highlighting athletic achievement.
Four-time Olympic swimming champion Ariarne Titmus said the campaign left her 'infuriated' and questioned why women's bodies were still being sexualised in sport.
British sprinter Amy Hunt addressed Sweeney after finishing fourth in the 200 metres at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest on 13 September.
'Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like,' Hunt said. She pointed to the 'muscles, hard work, sweat, blood, tears' behind elite competition.
Former American gymnast Gracie Kramer also posted footage of women training and competing. British Olympic cycling champion Sophie Capewell criticised the way women were represented in the campaign.
Sweeney's Athlete Photos Add Another Layer
Sweeney later shared photographs associated with ESPN The Magazine's former 'Body Issue,' which featured athletes posing nude or semi-nude as a celebration of athletic bodies.
She did not publicly explain why she shared the images.
The Associated Press described the Stories as an 'apparent reference' to the criticism surrounding the Novig campaign.
That distinction is important. Calling the photographs a direct defence of the advert would assign Sweeney a motive she has not publicly confirmed.
The athletes' criticism also extended beyond nudity itself. Their comments focused on how women are represented in sport and whether athletic achievement is being overshadowed by sexualised imagery.
The controversy comes more than a year after debate surrounding Sweeney's American Eagle advertising campaign in 2025.
This time, the backlash coincided with a measurable change in her Instagram audience. Social Blade recorded a two-day decline of more than 200,000 followers followed by a substantial rebound. What the figures cannot establish is why individual followers disappeared from the count.
