A little over a month after baring it all in a betting-company ad, Sydney Sweeney has sparked fresh controversy with promotional material for her lingerie brand, SYRN.
On Wednesday, October 21, the actress paid homage to Christmas movie figures from different eras, including Cindy Lou.
The character's origins as a child in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, however, angered netizens who criticized Sweeney for presenting the young girl in a suggestive manner.
Highlights
- Sydney Sweeney faced backlash for portraying Cindy Lou Who in a controversial holiday lingerie campaign.
- Supporters defended Sweeney by pointing to Taylor Momsen's dramatic transformation since playing the beloved Christmas character.
- The SYRN ad comes amid reports of the brand struggling to gain traction.
“Go to hell, you p**ophile,” one person wrote.
Sydney Sweeney came under fire over her controversial new lingerie advertisement
Sweeney's holiday-themed lingerie ad opens with her sitting in a chair, wearing a sweater and shorts while eating ice cream and watching television.
The scene appeared to be a reference to Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.
The following footage features the actress wearing her blonde hair in braids, along with a blue plaid nightgown and a short fur-trimmed cape, cosplaying Cindy Lou.
One netizen was quick to point out that while the Kevin reference was innocent, “The Cindy Lou one was in poor taste.”
“She definitely turned Cindy Lou, the sweetest child, into a s*x symbol,” a second commenter agreed.
“This is so sick in so many ways,” a third lamented.
Sweeney, however, was not without supporters.
Several commentators urged critics to look at what Taylor Momsen, the actress who played Cindy Lou Who, is doing now.
“These babies haven’t seen the REAL Cindy Lou recently, have they?” one person asked.
Taylor Momsen shocked fans in the late 2000s by dramatically abandoning her child star image
Momsen traded scripts for a microphone in 2009 by forming the alternative rock band The Pretty Reckless.
Her appearance underwent a dramatic transformation around the same time, with the singer embracing smoky eye makeup and striking platinum-blonde hair.
By 2011, Momsen had quit acting altogether, following a difficult battle with the Gossip Girl producers over her character's departure from the show.
When Entertainment Weekly asked her in 2015 whether she missed acting, Momsen replied, “No, not at all.”
Her stage presence in the years leading up to the interview had already made it clear how much she enjoyed performing.
At the 2011 Download Festival, a 17-year-old Momsen made headlines when she performed in a tank top that she pulled down, revealing her chest covered only by black X-shaped tape.
During a tour stop in Barcelona that same year, she made waves after inviting fans onstage and giving one of them a lap dance.
“I can’t believe she was Cindy Lou Who,” one fan remarked at the time.
Momsen revived her Cindy Lou look last year, sparking reactions similar to Sweeney's
Momsen took a trip down memory lane on December 22, 2025, by dusting off and rewearing her iconic Cindy Lou Who costume.
Now 32, the singer found that the festive outfit, originally made for her seven-year-old self, no longer fit as it once had.
She enlisted the help of her stylist and costume designer Lindsay Hartman to make it work.
Momsen and her team ultimately transformed the frock into an off-the-shoulder minidress, which she paired with a hooded cape and boots.
“25 years later,” she captioned the post, adding, “what a surreal holiday season.”
However, the look failed to impress everyone, with social media users flooding her comments section with unflattering remarks.
“I see a profitable future for her with OnlyF*ns in that outfit,” one person wrote.
“This is so inappropriate,” another echoed.
Meanwhile, Sweeney's controversial lingerie ad came amid reports that SYRN was struggling to gain traction.
Sweeney’s lingerie brand was criticized for prioritizing her image over customer service
When SYRN launched in January, Sweeney said the brand had been created to “understand women instead of talking at them.”
However, a March 25 analysis of its marketing efforts by The Robin Report, a digital publication covering retail and apparel, suggested otherwise.
“SYRN feels exclusionary,” the outlet wrote, adding, “It does not invite women in; it asks them to emulate and fawn over the founder.”
“It’s as if the underwear is not actually the product; Sweeney’s body is.”
A source later opened up to In Touch about the brand's sales performance.
According to the insider, the company's marketing team had been holding meetings to brainstorm new strategies to boost sales.
“They thought it would be a sellout based on Sydney’s brand, but clearly her saleability is waning rapidly,” the source alleged.
The discussion resurfaced last month when Sweeney appeared in an ad for Novig, in which she used only sports equipment to cover herself.
“Lending star power to other businesses when her own is struggling makes no sense,” one critic remarked.
"She knows how to trigger people and I am here for it," a netizen said about Sweeney
