Kelly Stafford weighed in on the Sydney Sweeney controversy this week, and she did it without naming Sweeney at all.
The wife of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford reshared an Instagram video from fitness influencer Daniel Hong, whose message focused on the way young girls are taught to equate attention with value. Hong said, “My girls are going to grow up in a world where they’re going to learn really quick that attention has value, especially for girls,” and added, “Appearance can get you attention: likes, comments, followers, money, opportunities. All of that is very real.”
He then drew the line he hopes his own daughters understand early. “What I want them to understand is that attention and value are not the same thing,” he said.
Stafford made her reaction clear with a caption that read “THIS THIS THIS THIS,” according to US Magazine.
Her post landed in the middle of the backlash surrounding Sweeney’s new ad campaign with sports prediction platform Novig. The “Just Sports” spot has drawn criticism from female athletes after Sweeney used strategically placed equipment to cover herself throughout the minute-long ad. Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus called it infuriating, and other competitors responded by sharing their own training photos as a direct contrast.
Stafford’s response also carried extra weight because she and Matthew Stafford have four daughters together. Hong’s comments about raising girls in a world shaped by attention and image clearly hit home, especially given that Stafford has spoken before about concerns tied to her daughters growing up in the public eye.
It’s also not the first time Stafford has found herself in the middle of public debate. She recently drew criticism over her behavior at one of her daughters’ birthday parties, and she has kept talking candidly about family life on her podcast this year, including recent remarks about her husband’s football future.
Sweeney, for her part, has answered the criticism by posting old ESPN magazine covers showing other athletes who posed nude for past editions, though she has not responded directly to Stafford.
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