Sydney Sweeney recently shared her disheartening experience with a veteran Hollywood producer who criticized her appearance and acting skills. Sweeney expressed her frustration with the lack of genuine women empowerment in the industry, pointing out that women often tear each other down instead of supporting one another. She highlighted the need for unity and emphasized that the current state of women empowerment in Hollywood is insincere and contradictory to its supposed values.

Sydney Sweeney found herself at the center of a controversy earlier this year after veteran producer Carol Baum criticized her by stating that Sweeney is “not pretty” and “can’t act,” even calling Sweeney's successful rom-com “Anyone but You” as “unwatchable.” A representative for Sweeney responded to Baum at the time, criticizing her for choosing to “attack another woman.” Sweeney has now addressed the incident directly in a new interview with Vanity Fair.

“It’s very disheartening to see women tear other women down, especially when women who are successful in other areas of the industry see younger talent working hard, striving to achieve their dreams, and then try to bash and discredit them,” Sweeney said. “This entire industry keeps talking about ‘women empowering other women,’ but none of it’s real. It’s all fake, just a front for all the other things they say behind each other's backs.”

Sweeney continued, “There are countless studies and different opinions on why this happens. I’ve read that it's a generational issue — we're raised to believe that only one woman can be at the top, whether it's the one who gets the man or the one who succeeds in her career. It creates a mentality where we feel we have to tear each other down rather than lifting each other up. I’m just trying my best here, but why am I getting attacked?”

Baum, a longtime Hollywood producer known for films such as “Dead Ringers,” “Father of the Bride,” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” made her comments during a discussion with New York Times film critic Janet Maslin in Pleasantville, New York.

“I don’t get Sydney Sweeney,” Baum said during the conversation. “I asked my class, ‘Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so popular?’ Nobody had an answer.”

Shortly after Baum's criticism went viral, Sweeney's representative issued a statement to Variety: “How sad that a woman who is in a position to share her expertise and experience chooses to attack another woman instead. If this is what she has learned in her decades in the industry and believes is appropriate to teach her students, it’s truly shameful. To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms. Baum's character.”