Christy Martin stepped in with her own punch this week, pushing back at the critiques aimed at Sydney Sweeney over the new biopic “Christy.” The retired boxing icon shared a photo with the “Euphoria” star and called out what she viewed as unfair shots from actress Ruby Rose.
“I have always been a fighter. My life reflected that in every way and now I fight for others,” Martin wrote. She then addressed the comments surrounding Sweeney, adding that she had seen people “attack my friend Sydney Sweeney” and wanted to speak up, per TMZ.
Martin doubled down with more clarity and emotion. “Syd not only worked her ass off for this film, she worked her ass off for me. For my story. For so many others suffering in silence. So I want to be clear about who Syd is. She is my friend and ally.”
The real Christy Martin defends Sydney Sweeney amid attacks after their movie, #Christy, struggled at the box office.
“I’ve always been a fighter. My life reflected that in every way and now I fight for others. The past few days I have seen some people attack my friend Sydney… pic.twitter.com/jfJtYklS3y
— Variety (@Variety) November 13, 2025
Ruby Rose’s claims spark tension
Rose openly criticized Sweeney on Threads, claiming the LGBTQ+ community did not support “someone who hates them, parading around pretending to be us.” She also said she was once attached to the project as Rosie, a fictional character inspired by Martin’s high school girlfriend, Sherry Lusk. That role eventually went to Jess Gabor.
Martin and Lusk first met in eighth grade and played basketball together before their romance began. Rose hinted that many people involved in the early stages of the film identified as gay, saying that the film lost key pieces of its original vision. She also pushed back at publicity discussion around the movie’s box office numbers.
“For her PR to talk about it flopping and saying SS did it for the ‘people’. None of the people want to see someone pretending to be us,” Rose wrote before adding that Christy “deserved better.”
The film explores Martin’s battles in and out of the ring throughout her boxing career. Despite earning only $1.3 million in its opening weekend, Sweeney said she felt proud of the project’s impact. She thanked fans for supporting “a story” she believed would help women find strength and safety. Sweeney called the film “the most impactful project” of her life and closed by expressing love and gratitude toward Martin.
