Saturday Night Live cast member Chloe Fineman revealed that she was behind the controversial Hooters sketch involving Sydney Sweeney, which aired when Sweeney hosted the show on March 2. During an appearance on Dana Carvey and David Spade's ‘Fly on the Wall’ podcast, Fineman discussed the sketch's concept and the backlash it received for sexualizing Sweeney.
"Sydney Sweeney, I pitched her the Hooters idea, where I was like, maybe work at Hooters, and we're counting tips," Fineman explained on the podcast. "I get $20 and you're like, cool, I made like $40,000. And then she DM'd me, to write it, and then we got in so much trouble for, like, sexualizing Sydney Sweeney." She added jokingly, "But it was your pervert over here!" .
In the sketch, Sweeney's character received large tips from male customers, including one played by Kenan Thompson, who commented, "Damn, she fine!" Another customer allowed Sweeney to pour beer into his mouth despite being sober for 22 years, while a third offered to buy her a car. The episode drew criticism for focusing on Sweeney's appearance, especially since the actress has previously spoken out about the unwanted attention on her looks.
"I was highly sexualized in high school because I had boobs," Sweeney told Elle in October 2022. "It's kind of funny: What was being said about [her character of] Cassie in ‘Euphoria’, the public then decided to do to me in real life. Which I thought was so crazy, because we were trying to show a character who was so hypersexualized, and what could have been the cause and effects for her. And they just continue to do it" .
In a Variety interview from the same month, Sweeney addressed the ongoing conversation about her body, stating, "I see it, and I just can't allow myself to have a reaction. I don't know how to explain it — I'm still trying to figure it out myself. People feel connected and free to be able to speak about me in whatever way they want, because they believe that I've signed my life away. That I'm not on a human level anymore, because I'm an actor. That these characters are for everybody else, but then me as Sydney is not for me anymore. It's this weird relationship that people have with me that I have no control or say over" .
Sweeney is set to appear in Ron Howard's upcoming thriller ‘Eden’, alongside Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, and Jude Law .
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