Sydney Sweeney has skyrocketed into stardom over the last year. She stole Season 2 of Euphoria playing the overdramatic if not slightly insane Cassie, and she was part of the cast of the Emmy-nominated series The White Lotus. However, Sweeney was experiencing flack for previous comments about not being paid enough for Euphoria and has clarified what she was really trying to shine a light on.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sweeney said that she wasn’t in a position to take a break from acting because she doesn’t “have an income to cover that.” She also said she worries about being a young mother one day because of the stigma placed by Hollywood and the financial pressures of having a child. Sweeney clarified her comments in an interview with Elle by saying that she wants to focus on her work right now and develop enough of an income to be a mother one day:
I was asked if I wanted to have a family and I said yes. And then I was asked why I didn’t have one yet, and I was like, I don’t have time to take even, like, a six-month break. Like, I don’t have time to be able to start this family. I’m working so much and I’m focusing on that right now. And so it was kind of skewed with the public and taken out of context, which was insane to watch and kind of disappointing, too, because I think that being a mother, and a working mother, is really important.
Considering Sweeney is 25 years old, she probably figures that right now it is best to focus on her career compared to being a young mother who cannot afford to take care of her children. It doesn’t look like she’s stopping her success train anytime soon as she’s spoken to Elle about how fortunate she is for making it as an actress and doing what she loves. Especially considering the young actress said when she was in high school, kids would give her the impression that she wasn’t living in the real world with her dreams and to “have a real life.” Considering Euphoria earned 16 nominations at the 2022 Emmy Awards, including the Sharp Objects actress herself, I think it's safe to say Sweeney proved them wrong.
The White Lotus star has a good reason to not ignore media coverage said about her. Sweeney said when she was in high school, she was highly sexualized like her character Cassie was. She’s faced obstacles in terms of her nude scenes on the show where people find it challenging to separate Sweeney from her character. Like she told the magazine, she’s willing to do the nude scenes if there is a way to fully develop her character and bring Cassie to life. But sadly, the Emmy-nominated actress has said her nude scenes have affected her career where that’s all people see compared to being taken seriously as an actress for her performance in The White Lotus. But fortunately, when Sweeney does have to do her nude scenes for Euphoria, she has felt safe on set with the intimacy coordinators around.
What’s next for Sweeney, you may ask? She recently joined the cast of Marvel’s Madame Web. While we have no idea what role she’ll be playing, that still hasn’t stopped her from doing her Web research. In the excitement of being in her first superhero movie, she pulled all the stops by reading a bunch of comic books to get more in tune with the superhero world. Some say she could make a good Spider-Gwen or Black Cat. No matter what role it is though, I’m sure it’ll be on her list of many memorable roles.
So, we can all rest assured that Sweeney is very proud of her work and the pay she gets from the acclaimed young adult drama, but knows realistically how much more money she would need to make if she wanted to be a working mom. Considering her current age, she’s got plenty of time for that. You can watch her Emmy-nominated performances in Euphoria and The White Lotus by grabbing an HBO Max subscription.
