Christy Martin defends Sydney Sweeney after Ruby Rose calls her a 'cretin'

Christy Martin is stepping into the ring for Sydney Sweeney.

The boxing legend defended the actress after Ruby Rose’s criticism of Sweeney’s portrayal of her in the 2025 biopic Christy, which opened on November 7.

“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 Sweeney,” Martin, 57, wrote on Instagram on November 13 alongside a photo with Sweeney, 28.

Martin praised Sweeney’s dedication to telling her story, calling her both a “friend and ally.”

“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,” Martin added.

Though she didn’t name anyone, Martin’s post followed Ruby Rose’s sharp criticism of Sweeney. In a Threads post, Rose said the film “ruined” the story and called Sweeney a “cretin.”

Rose claimed she had once been attached to the project, describing the original script as “incredible” and “life changing.” The Orange is the New Black alum said she was set to play Rosie, a character based on Martin’s high school girlfriend, Sherry Lusk, before being replaced by actress Jess Gabor.

“For her PR to talk about it flopping and saying SS did it for the ‘people’. None of ‘the people’ want to see someone... parading around pretending to be us,” Rose wrote. “Christy deserved better.”