Topics: Celebrity, Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk, Social Media, Sydney Sweeney
Warning: This article contains discussion of discrimination against the trans community which some readers may find distressing.
Sydney Sweeney is the latest famous face to be targeted of a group of bizarre online conspiracy theorists.
The 28-year-old The Housemaid actress is being 'transvestigated' by right-wing transphobes who are convinced she wasn't born a woman and is hiding her identity.
For those who aren't familiar, 'transvestigators,' as they like to call themselves, are an absurd group of theorists who believe that a number of notable public figures and celebrities are secretly transgender. The conspiracy is rooted in transphobia and relies on the hateful view that being transgender is in some way wrong and it's a secret to be concealed.
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The group's so-called 'evidence' - which has been completely discredited by scientific research and has no truth to it - is largely phrenology, which is a system that studies the size and shape of someone's skull in order to find out details about a person.
People are overlaying diagrams of skeletons and skulls over photographs of famous people to point out alleged 'discrepancies' as well as 'analysing' their body language and posture. They also more generally pick apart the way female celebrities look, pointing out what they strangely think are 'male characteristics'.
It actually gets even weirder - as per Teen Vogue, some versions of the conspiracy theory are also antisemitic, with believers thinking that powerful Jewish influences are trying to 'force' secretly transgender celebrities on the world.
Women who have been targeted in the past include Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Serena Williams, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and more recently, the widow of Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk.
And now, they've seemingly turned their attention to Sydney Sweeney.
One Twitter user posted two photos of Sweeney in a black blazer along with the caption: “Why is Sydney Sweeney’s neck so much wider than her head? I’m starting to get really worried that she’s actually a man."
It's since racked up millions of views, as reported by Them.
Others have reacted to the bizarre claim, penning: "They’re transvestigating Sydney Sweeney that’s crazy" and "No one is safe from the absurdity".
Someone else pointed out: "Lmfao the right / far-right are now transvestigating Sydney Sweeney after having tried to pass her off as the ideal conservative woman less than six months ago."
And Pride.com also revealed that, members of the Facebook group 'Transvestigation Disclosure NOW 2.0,' have been posting about Sweeney since at least 2024, taking aim at her 'narrow hips' and 'clavicle bone structure' as supposed 'evidence'.
This is the same group that targeted Erika Kirk back in November last year, just months after her husband was assassinated.
One user posted several photos of Kirk from her days as a Miss Arizona pageant contestant, writing: "That is a man. as most pageant winners are."
One commenter added: “Of course almost all models, especially agent models and Victoria secret models are mostly [trans women]."
Another wrote: "Yup that’s why Charlie Kirk seemed so feminine and emasculated because she was a transgender handler. That’s why he was so pretty."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
