When political arguments start using bodies as evidence, something has already gone wrong.
This week, Sydney Sweeney’s body was once again drafted into America’s culture war, this time thanks to Elon Musk.
The Tesla and X owner sparked widespread criticism after posting a series of sexualised memes responding to footage of the actor at the Los Angeles premiere of her film, The Housemaid.
Sweeney wore a low-cut white dress, so of course, the internet did what it always does.
The response to the posts was swift, but not as negative as one might expect. On X, users called out the strangeness of a 54-year-old billionaire publicly fixating on a woman in her twenties.
‘She’s 30 years younger than you. Weird,’ wrote @greendragonhq. Another added, ‘Elon Musk gooning over Sydney Sweeney come on man.’
But, notably, one person said: ‘This is what she gets.’
On Reddit, the criticism sharpened further. ‘Like imagine being the richest guy alive and still choosing creepy uncle at the premiere as your vibe,’ wrote user Ill-Moment-7309.
If one scrolls through comments on Musk’s posts long enough, a narrative begins to emerge. One that suggested Sweeney might not mind the comments about her body, or worse, that she deserved degradation for being a Republican.
Musk’s comments were not offensive because of who Sydney Sweeney is or what she may believe. They were offensive because they reduced her to anatomy and turned her into content for a powerful man’s amusement.
What makes this moment revealing is not the billionaire behaving badly, but how easily that behaviour was excused by people who would have vehemently defended any other woman in the same position.
If Musk’s posts prove anything, it is how quickly political tribalism erodes empathy. Once a woman’s body becomes ideological property, basic decency is the first thing to go, on both sides of the political spectrum.
