The veteran Hollywood producer had some choice words for the 'Euphoria' star, whose rep has now responded.
Sydney Sweeney's rep has her back amid a veteran Hollywood producer disparaging both her looks and her acting chops.
In a statement shared with Variety, Sweeney's rep is responding to Carol Baum's harsh criticism directed at the 26-year-old actress that was made during a panel discussion with New York Times film critic Janet Maslin. Baum had said, among other things, that she can't explain how Sweeney is so sought after when "she's not pretty" and "she can't act."
"How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman," the rep said, via Variety. "If that's what she's learned in her decades in the industry and feels is appropriate to teach to her students, that's shameful. To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms. Baum's character."
Baum's disparaging comments come on the heels of Sweeney starring opposite Glen Powell in the rom-com Anyone But You, which shattered expectations at the box office when it hauled in more than $218 million worldwide. Not only did she star in the film, but Sweeney also executive produced it through Fifty Fifty Films, the production company she launched in 2020.
Sweeney also starred in and executive produced Immaculate, for which she received tons of praise -- and comparisons to Tom Cruise and Margot Robbie -- following her portrayal of a nun named Cecilia. Fans first got to know Sweeney on the HBO hits Euphoria and The White Lotus.
But according to the Daily Mail, Baum shared with the audience in Pleasantville, New York, that she's puzzled as to why and how Sweeney's become Hollywood's latest darling.
"There's an actress who everybody loves now: Sydney Sweeney. I don't get Sydney Sweeney. I was watching on the plane Sydney Sweeney's movie [Anyone But You] because I wanted to watch it," Baum said in the discussion. "I wanted to know who she is and why everybody's talking about her. I watched this unwatchable movie -- sorry to people who love this ... romantic comedy where they hate each other."
But Baum wasn't done there, as the University of Southern California adjunct professor doubled down.
"I said to my class, 'Explain this girl to me. She's not pretty, she can't act. Why is she so hot?' Nobody had an answer," Baum continued. "But then the question was asked, 'Well, if you could get your movie made because she was in it, would you do it?' ... That's a very hard question to answer because we all want to get the movie made and who walks away from a green light? Nobody I know. Your job is to get the movie made."
Baum used to manage Dolly Parton and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She's perhaps best known for producing the 1991 rom-com Father of the Bride, starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton.
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