Sydney Sweeney is one of the biggest celebrities of our time. The film and television actor has appeared in major projects such as: euphoria And The White Lotusand was even named the most popular character of 2024 by IMDB.

But as popular as it is, almost everyone in the public has to deal with malicious online comments. This came to a head in the last few days when the actress was flooded with negative comments after pictures of her in a bikini were shared online.

I will not be sharing the photos of Sydney Sweeney in this article as it appears they were taken remotely and without her consent. What I will share, however, is a post the actress made on her Instagram documenting some of the cruel comments she received:

The online backlash surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s bikini photos is a prime example of how the internet has enabled abusive behavior and standardized public shaming, particularly of famous people.

Before we get to that point, however, let’s take a closer look at what happened.

How the internet reacted to Sydney Sweeney’s photos

We won’t be sharing any more negative comments aside from what the actress herself shared or the bikini photos that sparked the whole thing.

A quick look at the replies to the first few accounts that posted Sydney Sweeney’s bikini pictures reveals a flood of people criticizing her looks.

On the bright side, other people online became aware of this reaction and began posting in defense of the actor. Sometimes this included the use of famous meme formats, such as this screencap from South Park:

Or make pithy comments that highlight the reality of women wearing makeup and dressing:

Or just pure anger about what happened:

These three posts alone responded to the shaming of Sydney Sweeney’s bikini photos and have received millions of views – and there are many more.

The question is: what caused this internet storm? Why was there such a negative reaction?

Why were Sydney Sweeney’s bikini photos so controversial?

Sydney Sweeney is far from the only person to be body shamed online. This is something countless celebrities have to deal with – and it’s a real disease of the digital age.

In an essay titled “The Portrayal of Online Shaming in Contemporary Online News Media: A Media Framing Analysis” by Shannon Muir, Lynne Roberts, and Lorraine Sheridan, the authors explain why this type of public shaming occurs.

This “rapidly increasing” global phenomenon is described as a form of social policing based on what people view as “perceived wrongdoing” online.

Like Sydney Sweeney, who appears in a bikini in unedited photos in an uncontrolled environment. Studies show that American women spend an average of 45 minutes “grooming” to meet beauty standards. If these are not met, they will be hit with a so-called “beauty tax,” a local backlash against them.

Research shows that beauty can confer moral value, which is why the change in Sydney Sweeney’s aesthetic amounts to a failure for some. People may view their unedited photos as a moral breakdown.

The internet can amplify this. The authors of the shaming study suggest that the rise of the online world and the ease of uploading content has led to “countless individuals engaging in social or peer surveillance as a means of social control.”

In other words, the online world made it easy to engage in feelings of shame. What was once local can now be global.

Although the practice has been around for as long as humanity has existed, the difference about the Internet, according to the article’s authors, is that “the person being shamed no longer has to commit a real crime.” All that needs to happen is people perceive moral violations.

When groups think someone is doing something “wrong,” they feel validated to attack and shame them.

In the case of Sydney Sweeney’s bikini photos, they viewed the unposed, unedited images negatively and then attempted to shame her for what they viewed as wrongdoing.

But why? Now, the demographic of these offensive posters is interesting as there were a large number of men who commented on Sydney Sweeney’s body.

A big reason for this could be the emergence of lonely men’s groups on the Internet. In an article by Ruth Rebecca Tietjen and Sanna Tirkkonen entitled “The Rage of Lonely Men: Loneliness and Misogyny in the Online Movement of ‘Involuntary Celibates’ (Incels),” the authors discuss this as well as the idea of ​​”resentment.”

In fact, resentment is a feeling of hostility that someone directs toward what they see as the reason for their frustration.

The researchers state that this “resentment mechanism transforms loneliness into misogynistic emotions.”

These groups of lonely men form online communities, but instead of helping them with their plight, they do the opposite and make many members feel even worse about their predicament. Men in these loose organizations blame women as a whole for their lack of success in life, both generally and romantically.

This leads to increased misogyny, which in turn can manifest itself in situations like the vicious reaction to Sydney Sweeney’s bikini photos.

So what may have happened is that niche online groups, driven by their own anger and loneliness, feel they have both the right and the responsibility to attack someone like Sydney Sweeney for her moral weakness.

It would also not be right to place the blame solely on incel groups. Yes, when others see her actions, they can be inspired and validated to speak out negatively, but the loss of Sydney Sweeney’s cultivated image and perceived moral worth could have upset others.

People came to Sydney Sweeney’s defense in large numbers, showing that this connection between traditional beauty standards and moral worth doesn’t sit well with everyone.

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to this problem of online misogyny and public shaming. But things can change. It will require people to reckon with the implications of morality, beauty and public shaming, but that is far from impossible.