The real-life boxing legend Christy Martin is coming to the defense of Sydney Sweeney, who starred in the recent biopic Christy, a film based on Martin’s extraordinary and often harrowing life story.
Despite Christy opening to a modest $1.3 million at the North American box office, Sweeney’s performance has been widely praised for its intensity and authenticity.
But not everyone was impressed. This week, Ruby Rose (Batwoman, Orange Is the New Black) took to social media to harshly criticize Sweeney, calling her a “cretin” and accusing her of “ruining the movie.”
Martin wasn’t about to stay quiet while her friend took punches online. In a passionate Instagram post, she made it clear where she stands:
“I’ve always been a fighter. My life reflected that in every way and now I fight for others,” Martin wrote. “The past few days I have seen some people attack my friend Sydney Sweeney.
“Syd not only worked her ass off for this film, she worked her ass off for me. For my story. For so many others suffering in silence. So I want to be clear about who Syd is. She is my friend and ally!”
While Martin didn’t name names, her comments were certainly a response to Rose’s viral rant. In her post, Rose revealed that she had previously been attached to an earlier version of the project, playing a character named Cherry, and claimed the film lost its authenticity under new direction.
“The original Christy Martin script was incredible. Life changing. I was attached to play Cherry,” Rose wrote. “Everyone had experience with the core material. Most of us were actually gay. It’s part of why I stayed in acting.
“Losing roles happens all the time. For her PR to talk about it flopping and saying SS did it for the ‘people.’ None of ‘the people’ want to see someone who hates them, parading around pretending to be us. You’re a cretin and you ruined the film. Period. Christy deserved better.”
Rose’s accusation that Sweeney “hates” the LGBTQ+ community appears to stem from controversy surrounding the actresses past American Eagle campaign, which some critics interpreted as promoting divisive imagery.
As for Sweeney, she hasn’t responded directly to Rose’s remarks. But she did recently share her own heartfelt statement about Christy and its underwhelming box office performance, focusing instead on the film’s deeper meaning.
“We don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. And Christy has been the most impactful project of my life. This film stands for survival, courage, and hope. Through our campaigns, we’ve helped raise awareness for so many affected by domestic violence.
“We all signed on to this film with the belief that Christy’s story could save lives. Thank you to everyone who saw, felt, and believed and will believe in this story for years to come. If Christy gave even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety, then we will have succeeded.”
Regardless of online drama, Martin’s support for Sweeney shows just how much trust and respect the two share.
