Sydney Sweeney's decision to accept a high-profile industry honour in a markedly see-through silver gown has overshadowed her message about being 'underestimated', igniting a divisive online debate about image, agency, and the meaning of female empowerment.
The 28-year-old actress arrived at Variety's Power Of Women ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel on 29 October 2025 in a crystal-embellished, floor-length sheer gown by Christian Cowan that revealed nude undergarments beneath its mesh fabric.
Her speech that evening, in which she reflected on portraying boxer Christy Martin and on being underestimated in Hollywood, was widely reported, but many on social media focused instead on the dress, arguing it distracted from the event's purpose.
Variety Honour and a Statement of Strength
Sweeney was one of several women honoured at Variety's annual Power Of Women gathering, an event designed to celebrate and spotlight contributions by women in entertainment and philanthropy.
In her acceptance remarks, she linked the experience of playing Christy Martin, a fighter whose career and private struggles are central to Sweeney's forthcoming biopic, to a broader lesson about resilience, saying she knew 'what it feels like to be underestimated' and urging others to claim their power.
The Fashion — And The Fallout
The gown itself was immediately identified as Christian Cowan's metallic, crystal-studded design; fashion pages noted the strategic choice of nude undergarments and Sweeney's pared-back accessories.
Photographs and red-carpet clips circulated within hours, prompting contrasting responses: fashion commentators lauded the technical brilliance of the dress and Sweeney's confidence, while critics argued a sheer garment felt incongruous at a ceremony themed around female empowerment.
The divide was not merely aesthetic, as it reached into questions of agency versus appropriation, and what constitutes an 'appropriate' way for a woman to present herself while speaking about strength.
Supporters of Sweeney's choice framed it as deliberate agency. On the red carpet, veteran actress Sharon Stone publicly defended Sweeney, saying it was 'OK to use what mama gave ya' and emphasising that confidence and sexuality are not mutually exclusive from seriousness or activism.
Conversely, critics on social platforms and in op-eds suggested the outfit risked turning an empowerment message into a spectacle, arguing that young women listening might receive mixed signals when the visual headline overwhelmed the verbal one. The split in responses reflects a wider cultural tension: can sexualised dress be both a form of self-expression and a credible vehicle for feminist messaging?
Reputation and Public Perception
Sweeney's recent career choices, notably the physical transformation she undertook to portray Christy Martin and her candid discussions about being sexualised in earlier roles, frame this incident within a longer narrative.
In interviews, she has said the role changed how she thinks about strength and resilience, and she has previously pushed back against reductive readings of her public image. That history complicates critiques that reduce the moment to mere vanity; equally, it complicates defences that treat any display of skin as inherently empowering.
Audiences now judge both the content of a public speech and the accompanying visual performance, and those judgements are shaped by pre-existing perceptions and by social media's appetite for instant reaction.
At stake is a recurring question in contemporary feminism: whether empowerment is defined by autonomy of choice alone, or by how that choice is read within public institutions and movements.
For some, Sweeney's dress was a reclamation of bodily autonomy; a refusal to be shamed. For others, the dress appeared to undermine the solemnity of a forum dedicated to celebrating women's societal impact. Importantly, the debate also highlights differing cultural standards across generations and communities; what one cohort sees as a bold statement, another views as ill-timed.
The Power Of Women event has, paradoxically, become a case study in how spectacle and substance collide in modern celebrity activism.
