Sean Duffy is facing criticism after footage resurfaced showing him making suggestive remarks about Sydney Sweeney while seated next to his wife
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is facing criticism after old footage resurfaced showing him making sexually charged remarks about actress Sydney Sweeney while sitting beside his wife, Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy.
The clip comes from a March 23, 2024, episode of the couple’s podcast, From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys, titled “Can Sydney Sweeney Save America From Going Woke?” In the video, Sean, now 54, turned to the camera and said, “I’m gonna come back and give you my take on Sydney Sweeney’s [assets] right after this break.”
After the break, Sean credited his wife with suggesting the topic before launching into his commentary. He said, “If we’re honest, men appreciate women and men that appreciate women are not toxic.” He continued that he believed men naturally appreciate women’s bodies, framing it as part of how “God made” men and women.
Rachel laughed and added, “And women are still women,” which Sean repeated approvingly. He went on to say, “Sydney Sweeney’s b**** make us want to reproduce,” followed by, “Sydney Sweeney’s b**** are gonna save America.”
The clip was recirculated on X, prompting criticism of the Donald Trump‘s administration official. Independent journalist Karly Kingsley called Sean a “f****** creep,” while reporter Alex Cole said publicly discussing a woman’s chest while invoking God clashed with claims of traditional Christian values.
Context behind the original episode
The March 2024 podcast episode was filmed shortly after Sydney, star of HBO’s Euphoria, hosted Saturday Night Live. During her opening monologue, Sydney joked about being perceived in Hollywood primarily for her appearance and referenced her sex appeal as part of her public image.
Sydney’s SNL appearance was followed by an essay from right-wing commentator Richard Hanania titled “Yes, Sydney Sweeney’s B**** Are Anti-Woke,” which framed her physical image as a cultural counterpoint to progressive politics. The Sean built his podcast episode around a similar argument, with Fox Nation, the network’s on-demand streaming service that hosted the show, promoting the episode as an exploration of how Sydney’s appearance was making Americans “remember how different men and women are in a society full of ‘gender fluidity.’”
From the Kitchen Table: The Duffys ended production in October 2024. Sean was sworn in as U.S. transportation secretary on January 28, 2025, roughly 10 months after the Sydney episode aired.
Alongside the Sydney remarks, a separate clip from the podcast recirculated on X in which Rachel discussed the couple’s “get in the mood” playlist.
In the segment, Sean said shared musical interests “bonds people” and “brings people closer together” before trailing off. His wife then interjected, laughing, “We have a get in the mood playlist. Let’s not lie about that. We call it our love playlist.”
Sydney’s political profile
Sydney has increasingly been embraced by segments of the political right. She was revealed to be a registered Republican around the time she appeared in an American Eagle advertising campaign that was widely interpreted as carrying right-leaning messaging. Following that controversy, Donald and Vice President J.D. Vance publicly voiced support for Sydney.
The Daily Beast reported that it had contacted the Transportation Department, the White House and representatives for Sydney seeking comment on the resurfaced footage. None had issued a public statement addressing the clip as of publication.
Separately, Sydney has continued to build her career and business ventures. She has reportedly signed with talent agency CAA after spending part of 2026 without an acting agent and has also been promoting her lingerie label, SYRN.
Sean’s struggling reality series
Sean and Rachel met in 1998 on the set of MTV’s Road Rules: All Stars, after Sean appeared on The Real World: Boston and Campos-Duffy appeared on The Real World: San Francisco. The couple married in 1999 and have nine children together.
The pair currently star in an online series called Great American Road Trip, which follows a noncontinuous cross-country trip with several of their children. The series has drawn relatively modest viewership on YouTube, with its first episode recording just over 25,000 views after 13 days and later episodes attracting fewer than 10,000 views.
A review of the series published in The Guardian described it as a strange show stretched over almost three hours and questioned who its intended audience was.