Inside Sydney Sweeney's Feud With A Hollywood Producer That Worked With Dolly Parton

Sydney Sweeney has become a Hollywood star on the rise, particularly after her roles as Cassie on "Euphoria" and Olivia on "The White Lotus" — she was nominated for an Emmy for both parts. Despite those accolades recognizing her talent on-screen, some people aren't fans of Sweeney. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, though there is the adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

However, Carol Baum, a film and TV producer and former co-president of Dolly Parton's Sandollar Productions company, doesn't seem to believe in that idea when it comes to Sweeney. In a conversation with Janet Maslin, film critic for The New York Times, Baum referred to Sweeney's rom-com "Anyone But You" as "unwatchable." She also said that she'd brought up Sweeney with her students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, asking them: "Explain this girl to me. She's not pretty. She can't act. Why is she so hot?" (via Daily Mail). Ouch!

Maslin doubled down on X, formerly Twitter, posting about "Anyone But You" and saying, "It IS unwatchable." Plenty of people called Maslin out, and particularly Baum, for the comments about Sweeney.

Sydney Sweeney also noticed Carol Baum's comments about her, and she was not happy. Someone from her team released a statement in response to the producer's public vitriol: "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," per Variety.

Sweeney knows that people may misjudge her based on how she looks. In an interview with Glamour UK in 2023, Sweeney said, "The biggest misconception about me is that I'm just a dumb blonde with big tits." It sounds like Baum may have fallen victim to this misconception. It's a similar judgment that other stars in the entertainment industry have faced, including Dolly Parton. Considering that Baum was co-president of Parton's production company, it seems perhaps especially odd that Baum would come after Sweeney for her appearance.

After the fallout over her comments about Sydney Sweeney, Carol Baum told TMZ she wished she hadn't said what she did about Sweeney in a public space. Sweeney is not without her controversial moments, but she had a number of defenders after Baum's controversial comments went viral. That included Teddy Schwarzman, one of the producers of "Immaculate," the 2024 horror movie Sweeney starred in as a nun. He posted on X: "I'll enlighten Ms. Baum that two-time Emmy nominee Sydney Sweeney is not only one of the most talented actresses I've worked with but also incredibly smart, kind, and humble. I'm not sure why someone who claims to still be a producer would make such terribly ugly comments, but I can assure everyone that Sydney is at least beautiful on the inside."

However, similar to how Sweeney isn't phased by what people think of her racy on-screen persona, Sweeney's not letting Baum's comments keep her down. She's been keeping busy with her own production company — Fifty Fifty Films — and as of May 2024, she's got several movie and TV projects on her plate, including Season 3 of "Euphoria."