Is Sydney Sweeney More Famous Than Zendaya?

Image credit: Christopher Polk/NBC/Getty Images

I’m in the middle of an existential crisis (don’t worry, it’s a fun crisis!) and I need to share it here with all of you.

Via eBay rabbit hole-ing, I came across the 1992 In Living Color set – specifically a Homey D. Clown card. This made me wonder if the Fly Girls card in that set could be considered a Jennifer Lopez rookie card. It is – although there is more than one “Fly Girls” card in the set, and it is widely accepted that the one with the lower number, being “first”, is the real newbie. Anyway, you can get PSA 9 for around $40. And that seems pretty low for a J-Lo newbie, especially considering this is Carrie Ann Inaba’s newbie, too.

Advertisement

The set is actually loaded with “newbies” – Jim Carrey, J-Lo, Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier – but that’s a story for another day. This whole thing got me thinking about fame, and this comes after seeing Euphoria come back for another season and grappling with this conundrum:

Who is more famous: Zendaya or Sydney Sweeney?

Zendaya has more Instagram followers, she’s part of the Spider-Man universe (though technically also a Sweeney, by way of Madame Web), and she’s been nominated for more awards. But Sweeney’s autograph is worth 2-3 times more than Zendaya’s autograph and it seems like she has a bigger share of the spotlight – and isn’t that a good measure of fame like anything else? At least in the Warhol sense?

Advertisement

I asked myself this question and I put it to you: You’re at an event and your friend who organizes it says you can meet, take a photo with them and get an autograph from Sidney Sweeney or Zendaya. You can choose only one. Which one do you choose?

A part of me says Swinney. Part Zendaya says.

Sweeney’s bath soap sold out in minutes and has maintained a high resale value. She’s ubiquitous in pop culture – she was part of the Kalshi Bazaar, as possibly mentioned by President Trump in a speech, for example – and if you’ve seen home maid Or Christie… She was really good at them. Sweeney isn’t a bad actress at all (although I can almost guarantee she’ll get a Razzie nomination just for her publicity). So it’s not like Kim Kardashian where she’s put in movies because she’s famous; Swinney is good!

Advertisement

And Kardashian is a bad example here anyway because she’s worth billions of dollars and most people thought she’d fade away too. He didn’t.

Zendaya is kind of a boring, unmotivated entity at this point. Even her prediction market is just speculating on whether she’ll appear on late-night shows, or appear at The Met Gala.

Yet, if you ask an AI engine who is more famous, it insists on saying Zendaya. It also gets a little irritable:

If you follow “Whose autograph sells for more?” This allows for huge differences in prices. But it still insists that the answer to fame is Zendaya. And I don’t think the real world – at least not the collectible world – reflects that.

Advertisement

Credit: USA TODAY

To continue the duel of fame, we’ve talked a lot about women’s figure skating here recently. Amber Glenn has had more wins than Alyssa Liu recently and probably has a better chance for a gold medal in Milan. Also her autograph has a heart and she thanks Madonna. But Liu’s Break Spot and cards are selling for higher prices (and selling more quickly when listed, according to my Fanatics Live research). Glenn may be better, but Liu has potential.

Advertisement

To tie it all together, Sam Darnold was the butt of jokes for years with a Jets team that gave him no help offensively. And now Darnold is winning games at Tom Brady rates and his cards still can’t eclipse Brock Purdy’s levels. Jet odor cannot be eliminated. But Darnold should be more famous… and he’s not. We have been patient! There’s still time to get some of his cards at a good price!!

Anyway, it’s really about Sydney Sweeney vs. Zendaya. Let us know what you think on Mantle!

One last thing before we part – Progresso released “Soup Drops” – which are hard candies that taste like soup. Apparently they did this last year too and we missed it.

I have no opinion on this – I tried and failed to find some – but it’s… interesting. And there are more chances to get them throughout the month!

Good luck everyone!