Carol Baum: ‘I wish I hadn’t crapped on Sydney Sweeney!’
Carol Baum regrets “crapping” on Sydney Sweeney.
The veteran Hollywood producer and acting coach, 81, was plunged into controversy and targeted by the 26-year-old ‘Euphoria’ actress’ fans when it emerged earlier this week she had mocked Sydney’s looks and acting ability.
But she has now told TMZ she wishes she never said the actress “isn’t pretty” and “can’t act”.
Carol added: “Crapping on an actor like that usually isn’t (my) style.”
Her U-turn comes after Sydney’s representative slammed the producer for targeting their client.
They told The New York Post: “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.”
Carol – who is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – hit out at a Sydney on Tuesday (16.04.24) following a screening of her 1998 horror-drama film ‘Dead Ringers’.
She said: “There’s an actress who everybody loves now – Sydney Sweeney,
“I don’t get Sydney Sweeney. I was watching on the plane Sydney Sweeney’s movie (‘Anyone But You’) because I wanted to watch it. I wanted to know who she is and why everybody’s talking about her.”
Carol, who teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, went on to brand the comedy “unwatchable” and said she asked her students to explain to her why Sydney was considered “so hot”.
She added: “I said to my class, ‘Explain this girl to me. She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?’
“Nobody had an answer but then the question was asked, ‘Well, if you could get your movie made because she was in it, would you do it?’
“I said, ‘Well that’s a really good question… that’s a very hard question to answer because we all want to get the movie made and who walks away from a green light? Nobody I know. Your job is to get the movie made.'”
Fans shot to Sydney’s defence after Carol’s comments were reported by the Daily Mail, defending her as beautiful and a highly-skilled and ambitious actress with a long future ahead of her in movies.
Sydney gained an Emmy award nod for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for her role in ‘Euphoria’, which also starred 27-year-old ‘Dune’ actress Zendaya.
Her latest film is superhero caper ‘Madame Web’, and Sydney also received an Emmy nomination for her role in popular TV show ‘The White Lotus’.
Her ‘Anyone But You’ film, in which Sydney starred alongside ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ actor Glen Powell, 35, was met with mixed reviews, but raked in more than $200 million at the global box office – making it the highest-earning R-rated romantic comedy since 2016’s ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’.