Tue, November 18, 2025
Sky Sports drops women’s sport TikTok account after only three days after its posts were described by followers as “misogynistic” and “condescending”
Sky Sports has dropped its women’s sport TikTok account Halo just days after its creation following criticism that its posts were “misogynistic” and “condescending.” The account was labelled the “Lil sis” of Sky Sports UK, which people already thought was a condescending and infantilising title.
Viewers argued the “infantilising” posts undermined the work done over the past few years to put women’s sport in the spotlight. One fan commented that: “We’ve spent the last 50 years trying to come away from the stereotypes around women’s sport and trying to make women’s sport seen as an entity in itself rather than just an extension of what men can do. We deserve our own space, something that’s ours. We don’t need to be the ‘little sister’ to anyone.”
Sky Sports said the account was “created specifically to engage and entertain female sports fans,” as well as “to build a welcoming community for female fans, whether casual or committed, through fun, trend-led, and relatable content.” However, it was heavily criticised by both men and women during its brief appearance due to its “condescending” and “dumbed down” women’s sport content.
Halo featured popular TikTok references such as “hot girl walks” within its sport content. It had a neon pink theme, and five of the account’s first eleven videos featured male sports stars, despite the main goal being the promotion of women within sport.
Sports broadcaster, Georgie Heath, told ABC Sport: “It's sort of as if someone has just sat down in a boardroom and typed into ChatGPT ‘things that girls who like women's sport also like’…
It makes women's sport into this weird sort of gossip meme page with hot girl walks and matcha…
You almost feel like it's going to be, the next post, ‘here's the diet of this person or…if you want to wear pink on game day, this is how best to do that’…
And why does it need to be this sort of side page that's like an abscess on the side of sports?”
Sports Journalist, Kristen Gott, also told ABC: “I love makeup and Barbie and matcha and all that stuff, but I watch sport for the same reason as men do - for the sport.”
She said it would have been beneficial if rules and terminology were broken down, but that Sky Sports’ approach was just disappointing.
Sky Sports has since apologised:
“Our intention for Halo was to create a space alongside our existing social channels for new, young, female fans…
We've listened. We didn't get it right. As a result, we're stopping all activity on this account. We're learning and remain as committed as ever to creating spaces where fans feel included and inspired.”
Many agree that Sky Sports had the right idea but completely misjudged its approach. It could have shared authentic chats with players, coaches and officials within women’s sport, for example, as a way to engage both current fans and attract new people.
Many also stated that Halo did not live up to its aim of being an “inclusive, dedicated platform for women to enjoy and explore content from all sports, while amplifying female voices and perspectives,” in an attempt to be trendy and therefore slightly inauthentic.
