Carol Baum recently said Sydney Sweeney’s acting in ‘Anyone But You’ is ‘unwatchable.’ She also publicly criticized her acting skills. The actress shot back at the producer through a press release. Her representative shared:
“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.”
The statement continued:
“To unjustly disparage a fellow female producer speaks volumes about Ms. Baum’s character.”
The Hollywood Producer ‘Doesn’t Get Sweeney’
Carol Baum’s criticism came at a post-screening event of the 1988’ ‘Dead Ringers.’ She mentioned watching the box-office hit romantic-comedy, ‘Anyone But You,’ on a flight during the Q&A session with New York Times critic Janet Maslin and commented:
“I don’t get Sydney Sweeney. I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her.”
The teacher at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts went on:
“I said to my class, ‘Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so popular?’ Nobody had an answer.”
She’s Been Getting Backlash And Support
Maslin tried to clarify Baum’s comments on social media after the event. She agreed that ‘Anyone But You’ was ‘unwatchable’ and explained:
“We brought up ‘Anyone But You’ because it’s been the rare smash hit rom-com at a time when they aren’t working. Not because we wanted to take cheap shots at anyone.”
Meanwhile, the backlash against Carol Baum grew as more industry figures came forward. Producer Teddy Schwarzman of Sydney’s new film ‘Immaculate’ praised her 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 remain a producer would make such terribly ugly comments.”
You can see the tweets below.
As a producer of #Immaculate, 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…
— Teddy Schwarzman (@tschwarzman) April 17, 2024
Agree on The White Lotus. I haven’t seen Euphoria yet.
We brought up Anyone But You because it’s been the rare smash hit rom-com at a time when they aren’t working. Not because we wanted to take cheap shots at anyone.
— Janet Maslin (@JanetMaslin) April 17, 2024
