Sydney Sweeney has spoken out about what she perceives as the disingenuous nature of the female empowerment culture in Hollywood. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair for its 2025 Hollywood Issue, the 27-year-old actress expressed her frustration with the industry’s tendency to disguise the undermining of women as support and empowerment.
Sweeney began by addressing the issue of women tearing each other down in the industry, particularly when more established figures try to discredit the hard work of younger talent. “It’s very disheartening to see women tear other women down,” she shared. “Especially when women who are successful in other avenues of their industry see younger talent working really hard — hoping to achieve whatever dreams that they may have — and then trying to bash and discredit any work that they’ve done.”
The Euphoria star went on to criticize the widespread notion of “women empowering women,” calling it “fake” and just a “front” for all the negative things said behind people’s backs. “None of it’s happening,” she added, expressing her belief that much of the supposed support is performative.
Sweeney also pointed to a deeper, generational issue that may be contributing to this behavior. “There’s so many studies and different opinions on the reasoning behind it,” she noted. “I’ve read that our entire lives, we were raised — and it’s a generational problem — to believe only one woman can be at the top. There’s one woman who can get the man. There’s one woman who can be, I don’t know, anything. So then all the others feel like they have to fight each other or take that one woman down instead of being like, ‘Let’s all lift each other up.’”
Her remarks shed light on the persistent challenges women continue to face in Hollywood, where competition often overshadows the call for unity and mutual support. Sydney’s candid thoughts reflect a growing frustration with the gap between public statements of empowerment and the reality of how women treat one another behind the scenes.
