Sydney Sweeney has become the centre of an online controversy after a viral clip and a flurry of social posts suggested she liked tweets about Tom Holland, prompting accusations from some fans that she was undermining Zendaya.
The story began circulating on social media when a TikTok clip, widely shared across platforms, highlighted what users said were likes and interactions from Sweeney's accounts with posts referencing Tom Holland.
The clip quickly accumulated views and comments, and was amplified by fan forums and Reddit threads debating whether the likes implied romantic interest or simply fandom. Amid the chatter, older interviews in which Sweeney joked about a Tom Holland cameo on Euphoria resurfaced, and some users read those remarks as evidence of flirtation rather than jocularity.
Viral Clip Spurs Backlash and Speculation
A short TikTok video posted by an account called michelletok reignited attention on Sweeney's social activity, showing screenshots and commentary that framed the likes as provocative. The clip was reposted across X, Reddit, and Instagram, where users tagged Zendaya and debated whether the interaction was careless or malign.
@michelletok Replying to @Rya 🥨 Sydney Sweeney allegedly trash talking Zendaya on set after liking tweets about Tom Holland being hot. She was seemingly trying to method act as her “Euphoria “ character, Cassie! Leave your thoughts below!
♬ original sound - michelle
Online reaction moved quickly from curiosity to condemnation in some quarters. Threads on Reddit and X contained heated exchanges, with some fans alleging Sweeney's behaviour as disrespectful to Zendaya and others decrying the rapid weaponisation of platform interactions as unreliable evidence.
Several posts noted that liking a tweet does not necessarily indicate endorsement beyond a momentary reaction, and emphasised that screenshots and short-form clips easily lack context.
Relevant Interviews And Historic Context
The resurfacing of past interviews complicated the narrative. In a 2022 cast interview promoted by IMDb, Sweeney joked that 'we just need Spider-Man to come in and save the day', a light-hearted quip about Tom Holland appearing in Euphoria.
That clip, routinely used in round-ups about Holland and the show, was cited by some social media users as further proof of Sweeney's interest. Zendaya herself laughed at the notion in the original interview, framing the suggestion as a playful aside rather than a serious proposition.
Context matters. Sweeney has long been subject to intense public scrutiny: previous controversies around political optics, marketing missteps, and celebrity collaborations have left her more vulnerable to viral criticism.
Observers told this reporter that, in the fast-moving ecology of celebrity discourse, a sequence of unrelated incidents can be stitched into a single, damaging narrative by users seeking a coherent and often sensational story.
Reputation, Parasocial Pressure And The Industry
Beyond the binary of true or false lies a human story about fame. Both Sweeney and Zendaya occupy prominent positions in film and television, and each carries a different relationship with fan communities. Parasocial dynamics, the sense of intimacy fans develop with celebrities, intensify every small gesture into proof of a larger drama.
Industry insiders told this reporter that this sort of flash controversy places actors in an uncomfortable bind: respond and risk fuelling the story, or remain silent and allow speculation to grow.
For Zendaya, who maintains a carefully curated public profile and a high professional stake in Euphoria's success, the calculus is particularly delicate. For Sweeney, who has worked to broaden her public identity into production and mainstream film, a viral narrative can overshadow substantive career developments.
