Sydney Sweeney Was Never The Same After Euphoria

Sydney Sweeney put bathwater in soap. Sydney Sweeney lands at the center of a jean ad controversy. Jeff Bezos seemingly pushed aside Lauren Sánchez for Sydney Sweeney. Needless to say, she's had a busy 2025, and we're not just talking about her acting career. After gaining popularity for her scene-stealing work in the first two seasons of "Euphoria," Sweeney has transformed into a quintessentially modern and social media-savvy celebrity whose name has been attached to far more than just her on-screen credits. 

So, when did she go from up-and-comer to one of the most talked-about women in Hollywood? "I think I had a mini turning point with 'Sharp Objects' and 'Everything Sucks!' where I finally had something on my resumé that people could watch and let me in the room to audition," she told The Standard in 2023. "Then I had a quarter turning point with 'The Handmaid's Tale,' and then I had a full turning point with 'Euphoria.' All of that happened in a year so it was like, woooo, real fast."

The third season of "Euphoria" is set to premiere in April 2026 — a whopping four years after the second season aired — and a lot has changed since we last saw Cassie on our screens. For starters,  Sweeney's star launched into the stratosphere and it feels like hardly a week has gone by without a new, increasingly baffling, headline about her hitting the net. It seems fair to say she was never the same after she first appeared on the HBO show.

"I truly feel everything Cassie feels," said Sydney Sweeney, referring to her "Euphoria" character, Cassie Howard, in an interview with Deadline. "I like to look at it as if I am living and breathing that character's life, and the moments that are happening are truly affecting her," she continued. "I'm just allowing whatever hits her to hit me." Sweeney went on to note that while she does keep Cassie's life separate from her own life, embodying this character does require her to tap into raw and messy emotions. "I feel great when I go home. It's like therapy," she said.

While she may not carry all of Cassie's experiences and trauma with her after she clocks out for the day, Sweeney has acknowledged that she can relate to her character claiming she's "never, ever been happier" when she actually feels quite differently. "I put so much of myself out there, but I'm still emulating a little bit of my character as well," she told Vanity Fair in 2024 about her Emmy-nominated turn. "I look at everything as a job, so I want to make sure that I'm doing my job to the fullest extent that I can, and I can't let outside forces affect that. But there's definitely some really good shower cries in there."

In the aforementioned interview with Deadline, Sweeney also noted that playing Cassie, who is a totally exposed nerve of a character, has helped her grow as a performer in a number of ways. "I think that she has taught me to let go of insecurities that I may have," she said.

While Sydney Sweeney has certainly racked up a number of credits since the second "Euphoria" season, all that glitters hasn't exactly been box office gold. Her 2023 rom-com "Anyone But You" did well in theaters, but the same can't be said for all of her movies that followed.

Once the sophomore season of the HBO show hit screens, Sweeney was more than ready to branch out and subvert the audience's expectations. "Cassie is a sexualized character, and that became a mold that was then [forced] onto me as a human being instead of just Cassie," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022. "I look very different in everything I do because I want to become the character individually," she continued. "I don't want people to associate Sydney Sweeney with a character — I want them to fully feel like they're experiencing another world and another person." 

After the first two seasons of "Euphoria," it seemed like Sweeney was everywhere — and as promised, she wasn't reheating Cassie's nachos. She got a chance to play everything from American intelligence whistleblower Reality Winner to a nun who joins an evil convent to a 1990s prizefighter. While "Reality" and "Immaculate" got some buzz, 2025's "Christy" was a major box office bomb, posting one of the worst financial opening weekends for a movie screened in more than 2,000 U.S. theaters, as per The Guardian. She was also in 2024's "Madame Web," which was nothing short of a box office catastrophe, and Ron Howard's "Eden," which barely made a dent in the zeitgeist. 

You may remember back in 2023, as spring turned to summer, between the wall-to-wall coverage of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and the wall-to-wall coverage of Taylor Swift's romance with Matty Healy, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell (who both had partners at the time) sparked dating rumors while shooting "Anyone But You." Ah, were we ever so young?

It all started when some BTS videos that showed the pair engaging in very pally (read: flirty) behavior on set began making the internet rounds. Subsequently, eagle-eyed fans noticed Powell's then-girlfriend, Gigi Paris, unfollowed Sweeney on Instagram before sharing a cryptic break-up baiting post. Meanwhile, the co-stars got even cozier on the red carpet. If this fire needed any more fuel, Sweeney, who was then still engaged to Jonathan Davino, was then photographed without her ring. 

Evidently, Powell and Sweeney couldn't get enough of the speculation about their dynamic — primarily because they were trying to promote a movie where they play love interests. "That's people wanting what's on the screen off the screen," Powell told The New York Times in 2024. "[A]nd sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart." Sweeney, who was an executive producer on the film, was apparently all about keeping the chatter going. "I was probably keeping everybody over at Sony marketing and distribution awake at night because I couldn't stop with ideas," "The White Lotus" actor said. "I wanted to make sure that we were actively having a conversation with the audience as we were promoting this film, because at the end of the day, they're the ones who created the entire narrative." Paris would later say the PR stunt contributed to her split from Powell.

Are you really a member of the A-list if you aren't shilling cosmetic products? Whether it's Dua Lipa and her eponymous skincare range, Brad Pitt's unisex line, or Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop label, there is a glut of famous-faced beauty brands. Sydney Sweeney has also joined the skincare party, and she certainly put her own spin on things. In 2025, she released a natural soap named Sydney's Bathwater Bliss... yes, the soap was actually infused with her bathwater. 

There were 5,000 bars of the soap made, and they sold out in less time than it takes to run a bath, with some later being flipped on resale sites for upwards of $700, as per Complex. Opinions online were split on the soap. "[T]he way everybody is hating on sydney but this is actually such a smart business move," said one user on X. Another X onlooker disagreed, saying, "Imagine being an Emmy nominated actress and still seeking male validation. Where's the self respect? Dignity? Girl stand up!"

"It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting," Sweeney said in response to the controversy (via the NME). "They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi's bathwater." Either way, it shows how much the actor has changed since those first two seasons of "Euphoria," from pushing back against her sexualized image to arguably embracing it.

"I think what's interesting is I'm always myself," Sydney Sweeney told The Guardian in 2025. "I'm always just me. But it's what other people put on me that's uncontrollable. Like you're going to write this article ... Then people will read it and have their own perception," she continued. "So I try and be as much of me as possible, but it's always through other people's lenses." Indeed, in 2025, between her American Eagle ad (more on that later) and starting a relationship with Taylor Swift's shady enemy Scooter Braun (again, more on that later), Sweeney was one of the year's most talked-about celebrities. In turn, her public image got away from her faster than the Road Runner on PEDs. 

Just a few years prior, at the end of the second "Euphoria" season, Sweeney was the apple of the internet's eye. "She really should win an Emmy," said one user on Reddit. "I have a lot of problems with this season, including her storyline-but [Sweeney] acted her a** off the entire season!" However, by 2025, Sweeney was internet enemy number one. "[C]ulture really needs to move on from sydney sweeney," said one user on X. "[W]e cant stop talking about a just-okay actor with a black hole of charm, probably bad politics, and a darksided boyfriend named scooter." You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

"Sydney Sweeney has great jeans," reads an American Eagle campaign from 2025 fronted by the "Euphoria" star. It's the line that birthed a thousand think pieces, had social media in a tizzy, and even left President Donald Trump disturbingly giddy. The commercial was controversial, to say the least, as it was compared to Nazi propaganda and accused of promoting eugenics.

It's yet another example of Sweeney's metamorphosis from successful actor to showbiz talking point since "Euphoria" Season 2. Her film work in 2025 flopped considerably, both at the box office and on streaming. In the meantime, she became the fourth most Googled person in the U.S. in April 2025, according to data from Exploding Topics; American Eagle shares rose 23% after her campaign with the brand, as per NBC News. So, what did she have to say about the denim discourse? 

"I was honestly surprised by the reaction," the actor told People in late 2025. "I don't support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren't true," she continued. "I'm against hate and divisiveness." However, by this point, the public perception of Sweeney had changed beyond recognition. "The way she managed to completely destroy her reputation in just 6 months is impressive," as one X user put it. 

As far as some netizens are concerned, Sydney Sweeney seems to have a Mar-a-Lago face in the making. Mar-a-Lago face, if you were wondering, was pioneered by the likes of Kimberly Guilfoyle and Laura Loomer, and is characterized by heavy filler (in both the lip and face), blindingly white teeth, and pumped up hair. Imagine the yassified filter made manifest, that's Mar-a-Lago face. And some believe Sweeney, who is reportedly registered as a Republican, is on her way.

"The Mar A Lago transition is almost complete," said one X user after Sweeney debuted her look on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in December 2025. "Is she auditioning for Fox News?" asked another commenter on X. Suffice to say, some viewers thought Sweeney did look rather GOP-coded with her red dress and blonde bob à la Laura Ingraham.

However, a few days after her appearance on the NBC talk show, Sweeney was adamant she hadn't undergone any of the cosmetic surgeries synonymous with Mar-a-Lago face. "I have never gotten any work done," she told Allure during an interview. "I am too scared of needles. You cannot compare a photo of me from when I was 12 to a photo of me at 26 with professional makeup and lighting." Before adding, "Everybody on social media is insane!" One thing's for sure, though, Sweeney's latest look has people making a shady prediction about whether or not she's aiming for a spot on "Fox & Friends."

Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos' lavish wedding might've been low-key boring for some of their celebrity guests, but there were at least two stars who got something out of it. In the wake of the Amazon founder's nuptials, a source told Page Six that Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun had begun dating after meeting at the June celebration. Yes, that Scooter Braun. As in the reason why Taylor Swift can't stop releasing her own versions of past albums.

Throughout the remainder of the summer, the pair kept their dalliance under the radar. That all changed in late September, when, in true celebrity couple fashion, the lovebirds had a run-in with the paparazzi who captured them holding hands in Los Angeles. It was a hard launch if ever there was one. Alas, this particular coupling isn't exactly a hit with everyone.

"She's a great example of the belief that any publicity is good publicity," said a user on Reddit. "Fake showmances with co-stars, controversial ad campaigns, and now rolling out this new relationship with Scooter Braun, of all people," they continued. "It's baffling to me because she doesn't have to do all that." It just goes to show Sweeney's further transformation into a headline maker and tabloid talking point. After "Euphoria" made her a household name, she went from exciting up-and-coming screen star to lightning rod for controversy.

"I know who I am. I know what I value," said Sydney Sweeney in an interview with GQ in 2025. "I know that I'm a kind person. I know that I love a lot, and I know that I'm just excited to see what happens next. And so I don't really let other people define who I am." 

In the very same interview, Sweeney put her money where her mouth is. "I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise," she continued nonchalantly, referring to her aforementioned American Eagle campaign. "I love jeans. All I wear are jeans." When asked if she was worried that the backlash from her controversies would give moviegoers pause, Sweeney responded with a no and added she was hardly checking her phone.

After her interview with GQ generated even more chatter and criticism, Sweeney evidently realized that she couldn't sweep the American Eagle ad controversy under the rug after all. Insisting that it really was just about denim, she told People in the aforementioned interview, "I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it." Though her remarks to People were arguably better than what she said in GQ, many wrote it off as an intentionally vague statement. Whatever the future may hold for Sydney Sweeney, we have a feeling the PR drama will only continue.