Hollywood producer Carol Baum has taken back her claims that Sydney Sweeney is “not pretty and can’t act”.
The producer caused outrage when she bashed the actress’ acting abilities and branded her “not pretty”, questioning why anyone watched her blockbuster film Anyone But You.
She has now gone back on her statements, after being attacked by the star’s fans online.
Earlier this week, Carol spoke to New York Times film critic Janet Maslin in front of a live audience after the screening of a film.
It was here where she made the comments about the actress, attacking her acting abilities and looks, and questioning the success of her films.
“There’s an actress who everybody loves now – Sydney Sweeney. I don’t get Sydney Sweeney,” she said.
“I was watching on the plane Sydney Sweeney’s movie because I wanted to watch it,” she continued, referencing the rom-com Anyone but You, which she stars in alongside Glen Powell.
“I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her. I watched this unwatchable movie – sorry to people who love this movie – [this] romantic comedy where they hate each other.”
Then, Carol spoke about a conversation she had with the class she teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
She added: “I said to my class, ‘Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?’”
“Nobody had an answer but then the question was asked, ‘Well if you could get your movie made because she was in it, would you do it?”
“I said, ‘Well that’s a really good question…that’s a very hard question to answer because we all want to get the movie made and who walks away from a green light? Nobody I know. Your job is to get the movie made.”
Fans came to Sydney’s defence online and accused the producer of being jealous, claiming she was an example of “internal misogyny”.
Carol has now confessed to TMZ that she wishes she never made those comments about the star, and said: “Crapping on an actor like that in public usually isn’t her style.”
She also revealed that she received a slew of hate mail after the comments became public.
Sydney has also broken her silence and criticised the producer for bashing another woman in the industry.
A representative for Sydney told the Daily Mail: “How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman.”
“If that’s what she’s learned in her decades in the industry and feels is appropriate to teach to her students, that’s shameful.”
“To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms Baum’s character,” they added.
