The Orange Is The New Black star didn’t sugarcoat her thoughts on why the biopic about the legendary lesbian boxer flopped at the box office
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGES BY (L) STILL FROM DIRTY ANGELS/LIONGATES, (R) STILL FROM CHRISTY/BLACK BEAR PICTURES
Ever since it was announced that Sydney Sweeney was taking on the role of the legendary lesbian boxer Christy Martin in the Christy biopic, there’s been much debate about the casting. And now, following a historic vox office bomb which saw Christy become one of the worst performing films of all time, Ruby Rose has slammed the Eurphoria star, who she claims “ruined” the film.
The film follows the story of former professional boxer Christy Salters, who was better known as Christy Martin. She was the best-known female boxer of the nineties and survived an attempt on her life by her former husband and coach.
Taking to Threads on 11 November, Ruby didn’t mince her words when she shared her thoughts on why Christy didn’t have a successful turnout. “The original Christy Martin script was incredible. Life changing. I was attached to play Cherry. 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,” the Dirty Angels star wrote.
There is notably not a character in the film called Cherry, it is possible that she was referring to Christy’s girlfriend, Sherry Lusk, but other publications have speculated that Ruby was referring to Christy.
Since the casting of Sydney was announced, there’s been much discussion online about how they wish Christy was played by someone from the LGBTQIA+ community. Ruby is notably part of the LGBTQIA+ community, unlike Sydney who is straight.
“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,” Ruby’s post continued.
While Ruby doesn’t mention anything specifically, her claim that Sydney “hates” gay people appears to allude to the recent controversy and speculation surrounding Sydney’s political beliefs, who was revealed to be a registered Republican. She also recently received backlash for her American Eagle jeans ad. The advertisement went viral for the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” Many criticised this pun on “genes” and claimed the campaign had racist and pro-eugenics undertones.
While Sydney has not publicly commented on her political views, when GQ gave her a chance to address the racism and eugenics accusations, she replied: “When I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.”
Sydney posted a statement on Instagram reacting to the disappointing turnout for the film: “We don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact.” The Anyone But You Star also commented on the way the film raises awareness on domestic violence, stating, “we all signed on to this film with the belief that Christy’s story could save lives”.
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