Sydney Sweeney Took Some Flak For Her Recent Sheer Dress Moment, With Critics Saying The Look ‘Overpowered’ Not ‘Empowered’ Her

Sydney Sweeney has been out and about of late, as often happens when an actress has a splashy upcoming movie hitting the release schedule around the same time awards season begins ramping up. She’s been wearing pink for Christy in a nod to the boxer’s famous shorts, but she switched things up this week, donning a sheer silver number for the 2025 Power of Women Event.

The look was unexpected for the actress, both from the standpoint it was fully sheer, but also because it was not the usual type of silhouette she typically sports. And she definitely took some flak for it.

The event is hosted by Variety each year, and in their post mentioning the big celebrities who attended – Sweeney, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kate Hudson, Nicole Scherzinger, Wanda Sykes, etc — a lot of fans felt the need to weigh in on the Euphoria and Christy star’s dress. A few people loved it and wrote comments like:

But amidst that body positivity there were a lot of critics of her look. Writing on the Variety post celebrating the event, a bunch of people hated on the sheer nature of the dress, with some even going so far as to say it "overpowered" rather than "empowered" her. Some simply also thought the dress wasn't the right fit for the event she wore it to. A smattering of comments (many with hundreds or even thousands of likes) can be seen below.

• Am I the only one just not a fan of this dress for the occasion? 🤷🏻‍♀️
• That dress doesn't empower but overpower.
• Beautiful dress, wrong occasion for it though.
• I’m just not a fan of the naked dress. I think the human body is beautiful and I completely respect people’s right to wear them. I don’t think it’s flattering. I think it’s distracting.
• Dress for the occasion - it’s not Playboy. 😳
• The Power of Women and she wears that dress? Nope.

It's not just random commenters, either, as Megyn Kelly went so far as to weigh in on the sheer nature of the dress, telling her talk show audience.

The move follows a series of other celebrities who have purposefully worn see-through looks in order to "free the f---ing nipple" as Florence Pugh famously put it before Bella Thorne, Kylie Jenner and others embraced the trend. In this case, though, Sydney Sweeney's intentions feel a bit more opaque. Unlike other naked dresses, it's a bit unclear to me if this was supposed to be as see-through as it ended up being under the scrutiny of flashing bulbs, though the silhouette of the dress itself is certainly form-hugging and the material involved is thin.

Siri Lehland wore the Christian Cowan dress publicly previously, and it was less intensely sheer, but that seems to be precisely because Ms. Sweeney has a curvier figure, and her body was much more noticeable under the thin fabric.

Sydney Sweeney has addressed comments about body scrutiny in the past, noting she believes in "embracing" her sexuality. She famously said at the time, "If you have boobs, great. Flaunt them." More recently, she says she's seen the discourse from internet users who believe they can "comment" on her body and she tries to ignore it. It seems she's living by her own advice.