Hollywood producer Carol Baum has publicly derided Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney. Interviewed onstage following a screening of her 1988 film, Dead Ringers, in Pleasantville, New York, Baum described viewing Sweeney’s romcom, Anyone But You, on a plane (“unwatchable”), and said she’d asked students on her producing course at the USC School of Cinematic Arts: “Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?”

She and her students came to the conclusion they would hire Sweeney if it got their film made. I’m sure the globally celebrated, twice-Emmy-nominated, actor-producer Sweeney will be very relieved about that.

What depressing nonsense, not to mention dire optics. A 26-year-old woman scorned at a screening honouring a veteran female producer, aged 81. A class of students encouraged to join in (such delightful attitudes to teach people going into the industry).

It goes without saying that Sweeney and her work are fair game for criticism, but “not pretty”/ “can’t act”? This is shock-jock-level stuff. Responding via representatives, Sweeney said: “How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman,” which sounds right (to her credit, Baum told the TMZ site that she regrets her comments). But deeper issues are........

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