Forbes explains sploshing, the sex trend Sydney Sweeney showed on Euphoria
A new Forbes explainer connects a niche fetish called "sploshing" to a scene in HBO's Euphoria starring Sydney Sweeney. The piece frames it as a sex ed guide with safety notes, not commentary on the show. What it reveals is how Sweeney's willingness to explore taboo content has made her the go-to reference for mainstream media explaining what most celebrities avoid.
Forbes published a sex education explainer this week that does something unusual for mainstream business media: it explains a niche sexual practice with clinical detail and safety guidelines, using Sydney Sweeney's Euphoria performance as the cultural reference point. The piece, by health writer Bruce Lee, frames sploshing (also called "Wet and Messy" or WAM) as a legitimate consensual fetish with specific safety rules.
What sploshing is
Sploshing is a sexual practice involving the application of wet, messy substances like food, lotions, or paint to a partner's body during or alongside sexual activity. The appeal, according to the Forbes piece, comes from multi-sensory stimulation, the thrill of abandoning inhibition, and in some cases elements of dominance play. It is a niche practice, but catalogued enough in sexual wellness literature that an explainer like this has a source base.
Why Euphoria is the reference
Forbes used Sweeney's Euphoria performance as the cultural hook because her character Cassie performs a scene that includes sploshing elements. Most celebrities would never be the reference for a mainstream sex education article, because that association lands as an endorsement or an exposure. Sweeney is, at this point, the obvious example: she has spent two years appearing in and profiting from content that explores taboo sexuality, so she is legible to a general audience as "the actress willing to go there." The Forbes piece did not pitch it as commentary on Sweeney. It pitched sploshing, and found Sweeney was the shorthand the audience already knew.
At a glance
- What it is
- Sploshing or WAM (Wet and Messy) is a consensual sexual practice involving wet or messy substances applied to a partner
- The reference
- Sydney Sweeney performed sploshing-adjacent content in HBO's Euphoria, making her the reference for Forbes to use in a sex education piece
- The safety angle
- Forbes emphasized consent, communication, and specific precautions: avoid toxic substances, check allergies, protect eyes and genitals
- Why it matters
- Sweeney has become the default reference when mainstream media explains taboo sexual content, a form of cultural authority that flows back as influence
The safety rules matter
The article emphasizes that consent and communication are paramount, and lays out specific precautions: avoid toxic or irritating substances, check for allergies, and protect sensitive areas like eyes and genitals. That is not edge-case pedantry. Sex educators and kink-aware therapists emphasize consent and safety because risky play has real costs. The Forbes piece takes that seriously, and the choice to educate rather than titillate is why this kind of article can land in a mainstream business publication.
What this says about Sweeney's cultural footprint
This site tracks how Sweeney turns attention into ownership, whether through her Novig equity stake or the Syrn lingerie brand that Sharon Stone just used as a punchline. But there is another dimension: she has become the default cultural reference for taboo sexual expression. When mainstream media needs to explain something sexually explicit, they reach for "like Sydney Sweeney in Euphoria." She does not have to tweet or give interviews. Other people are marketing her willingness for her. That reach is not monetized in the traditional sense, but it is influence, and influence is what advertising buys.
What to watch
Watch whether other outlets use Sweeney as the reference when they cover sexual content going forward. If this becomes a pattern, it means a new form of cultural authority has crystallized: not the activist or the academic, but the actress willing to perform the thing the culture is trying to understand. That is a very different kind of power than we usually credit.
Sweeney Ad Watch is an independent commentary site with no affiliation to Sydney Sweeney, HBO, Forbes, or any brand named here. We cover this as a case study in celebrity cultural influence and how taboo content becomes mainstream reference points. Every claim above is sourced to the outlets linked in the text and listed below.
