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Sydney Sweeney is booked and busy. The actor has been working nonstop since 2018, filling her resume with exciting projects. She’s received Emmy nominations for her performances on TV shows, The White Lotus and Euphoria. Currently, she’s filming the movie Madame Web, which will mark her introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her work ethic has led to increasing popularity, brand partnerships, magazine covers, and more. But fame certainly has a price. Sweeney demonstrated firsthand how intense living in the spotlight can be when she hopped on Instagram live crying and pleading for people online to be kinder.

Sydney Sweeney at the Venice International Film Festival
Sydney Sweeney | Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Back in May of 2021, Sweeney found herself trending on Twitter. After a user called her ugly, plenty of fans raced to her defense. The tweet quickly became ratioed. But at a glance, Sweeney mistakenly thought that many people online were taking jabs at her appearance rather than a select few. The Players Table producer was understandably upset that people were criticizing her appearance. She hopped on Instagram live, crying and urging people to be nicer.

The ‘Euphoria’ actor made an impassioned plea while crying on Instagram live

“Apparently, I am trending on Twitter right now for being ugly,” Sweeney said shared whilst crying. “I think it’s really important for people to see how words actually affect people. I know everyone says, ‘You can’t read things,’ and ‘you shouldn’t read things,’ but like, I’m a f****** person! I’m just sitting here with my dog, Tank, watching HGTV wearing my Snuggie. People need to be nicer on social media because this is really f***** up.'”

Though Sweeney was only on Instagram live for a few seconds, the video of her crying circulated rapidly. Many people expressed sympathy for the actor and praised her beauty and talents. Others felt that the actor was very courageous in her vulnerability. They felt that she was showing that celebrities are people too and, obviously, affected by vitriol on social media.

Sweeney called her tearful video a low point

But Sweeney doesn’t seem to see view her impassioned plea as courageous. While speaking with Net-a-Porter, she got candid about the viral moment. “There was nothing brave about it,” Sweeney shared about the crying video. “It was a very low point. [People] see the glitz and the glamour and think that’s what your life is 24/7.”

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In reality, Sweeney was already having a less than glamorous day when she found herself trending on Twitter. While speaking with Cosmopolitan, she recounted her day from hell. Though she had a photoshoot planned, she had to leave early after she got sick and vomited. She was also contending with hormones and nausea from her menstrual cycle. To top it all off, she got into an argument with a friend. It was in the midst of all this that she saw comments about being “ugly.”

But even though Sweeney’s crying video occurred at a low point, she doesn’t regret it. She hopes that it will make people think twice about how they behave online. And while she’s embarrassed by the video ultimately, she’s glad she went live.

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