Over the summer, American Eagle premiered their ad campaign starring Sydney Sweeney. The campaign was “Sydney Sweeney Had Good Jeans,” a play on “genes,” as if to drive the point home that this was all about eugenics and having the “right genes.” Dumber still, the Trump administration loudly defended their new Aryan princess and her good genes. Instead of immediately walking this sh-t back and saying the words “of course Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle do not support eugenics,” both Sweeney and AE spent months shrugging their shoulders about the controversy. In Sydney’s recent GQ interview, she was given ample opportunity to clarify, back-track, explain or apologize but refused to do all of the above. That was when even Sydney’s fans and defenders really cut their ties with her. Well, she noticed. And now she’s finally doing what she should have done in July!
Sydney Sweeney is addressing her highly publicized American Eagle denim ad in an emotional interview with PEOPLE. Sweeney came under scrutiny for the denim brand’s hotly debated campaign titled, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” which was released on July 23.
The campaign sparked a debate that the usage of the word “jeans” as a play on “genes” is racially charged and hints at genetic superiority. Others criticized it for catering to the male gaze and taking inspiration from Brooke Shields’ controversial 1980 denim campaign.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” Sweeney tells PEOPLE. “I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true.”
Shortly after the ad dropped, American Eagle took to social media to stand its ground in response to all the online chatter. In an Aug. 1 Instagram, the brand wrote, “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Sweeney tells PEOPLE she’s someone who “leads with kindness,” and that she is addressing the campaign backlash to clarify her stance and dispel negativity.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness,” she says. “In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it. So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”
This whole months-long own-goal has made me question Sydney’s management and PR team, because she’s either refusing to take good advice or she’s not getting good advice whatsoever. We can argue about whether or not she should have backtracked right away over the summer – and in retrospect, that would have been a wise decision – but to refuse to clarify the situation after the dust had settled months later was the dumbest thing ever. Her GQ interview showed that she wasn’t actually sorry and she didn’t have any issue with being called a MAGA eugenicist. I suspect that the only reason she’s clarifying now is because the lingering controversy has affected her bottom line, especially because her big Oscar-bait film Christy bombed so hard at the box office.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid. Screencaps courtesy of American Eagle’s commercial.
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- HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – OCTOBER 25: American actress and producer Sydney Sweeney wearing a custom Miu Miu dress arrives at the 2025 AFI (American Film Institute) Fest Presented By Canva – Premiere Of Black Bear’s ‘Christy’ held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX on October 25, 2025 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 1048305377, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Sydney Sweeney, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- New York, NY Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun were seen walking together through Central Park, sharing a moment as they crossed the iconic Bow Bridge. Pictured: Sydney Sweeney, Scooter Braun BACKGRID USA 4 NOVEMBER 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: ASPN / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY Sydney Sweeney looks great in a red outfit as she steps out of her hotel in New York, ready for a night out. Pictured: Sydney Sweeney BACKGRID USA 1 DECEMBER 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Too little too late. Sit down and STFU!!
Exactly.
She also has a new movie “The Housemaid” coming out next Friday, so yeah she’s trying to clean this up because she doesn’t want to keep getting asked this question. What’s also funny is that the author of the book posted pics but did not post a pic which just her and SS. She post a pic of herself with Amanda Seyfriend.
Is The Housemaid the one she hopes will be an award contender?
It’s as if EVERY movie she has released since that rom-com she produced & starred in where she decimated a real woman’s emotional landscape with the help of that woman’s trifling AF boyfriend 😡 to promote that BS film…has gotten the karma they deserve because SS has shown US 🇺🇸 these past few years…that she’s PRETTY…AWFUL.
I really had high hopes for Sweeney. I thought she had a lot of potential. Unfortunate that this is the path she’s taken, but unless she goes on a full mea culpa tour, I don’t know that she’s going to be able to dig herself out of the hole for years.
The funny thing is that if she was a fully established actress with a record of bankable hits, then I don’t doubt that she’d still be alright and getting roles. But with her recent string of movies not doing well- not that I think most of them are “on her” tbh, she’s second string on most of them- she seems to have become a bit of a hate sink for Hollywood. Or at least on the part of the internet I go on.
LOL. And still managed to “both sides” it and not say anything of substance. Girl BYE.
‘And still managed to “both sides” it and not say anything of substance’
Exactly! “I’m against divisiveness” is not the repudiation of eugenics, white nationalism she seems to want us to think it is.
And leading with ” I was honestly surprised” that her ad was poorly received was also weak. It’s barely a notch above “i’m sorry you were offended” lady.
How about supporting human rights for all, making clear she does not support white supremicists or white nationalists with her whole chest. Or saying something like “oh, shit, I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on the possibly bigoted connotation of the add copy and visuals, I’ve got to do better going forward. And doing it *immediately*
Why do I think if her boxing movie had done better she wouldn’t have said a darned thing? Because this doesn’t come across as someone making their values, stance clear, pushing back on bigots; it’s about SS trying to salvage her marketability, career.
She’s only clarifying because she saw the writing on the wall and can’t afford another flop
She thought that maga dudes would go to her movies because of her stance & her rack. That’s not how those hypocrites roll ma’am. They use the mediocre looks of white women they deem f*ckable to troll (without success) liberals online about how much hotter the women on the left are in comparison to liberal women.
She’s not very bright this one.
Bitch, too little, too late!
Although, a backhanded “thank you”, because your racist little jeans ad inadvertently helped the multi-cultural, multi-racial girl group take off when their Gap ad dropped. And now they are Grammy nominees!
Speaking of Katseye’s Gap Ad, I notice on Twitter that whenever those articles of SS are brought up, someone refuses to discuss her and just post Katseye’s Gap Ad instead. I fully support this, and I think CB should just post that ad instead if the American Eagle stuff gets brought up again.
Love this. All in for Katseye; enough SS BS.
LOL Kudos to Zendaya and the cast of Euphoria for saying we will not nor are we obligated to promote this show with her. Zendaya has power in this industry. FAFO.
MAGA Barbie also discovered Trumpsters are broke AF and don’t go to the movies.
Hopefully she made some money selling her dirty bath water.
Party’s over – you could have done the right thing in real time. Instead you chose to double down on your White Supremacy. With a smug smile and your whole chest you said: “when I have something to say about it I’ll say it…” We heard you loud and clear.
She was given a full opportunity to walk it back but no one had crunched the numbers yet. Now that they have, all of a sudden she stands against hate – but she would happily vote for that Orange F*cktard tomorrow if there were another election. Girl go have another Hoe Down with your trifling ass family. Bitch bye.
“I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true.”
Hey, Sydney, this is a bit vague. Care to clarify? Who are “some people” and what views, motives, and labels?
Some people who oppose white supremacy saw your message as an embrace of eugenics and white supremacy and they criticized it and you.
Some people who are white supremacists also saw your message as an embrace of eugenics and white supremacy and they embraced it and you.
At the time, you seemed to smugly embrace the second group.
Now that your movies are tanking because those in the second group prefer to sit home and re-watch old Chuck Norris films over and over instead of buying cinema tickets, you seem to be reeling a bit but you still aren’t clear on what your message actually is.
Oh please, she is as MAGA as it gets.
I never saw her appeal or felt drawn in by Sydney and her genes at all, so I’m especially tired of her schtick.
Hard agree. She is so unappealing, and I don’t understand why anybody thinks she’s worthwhile in any sense. Trying not to be offensive here, but to me she looks like there is something wrong with her. Like not all of the neurons are firing upstairs.
I don’t get the sense that there is something neurologically wrong with her. What comes to mind is a very old PSA with Michael J. Fox that opens with “Life is a series of choices …”
SS has spent the last 10+ years making a series of choices – based her values, priorities, views of the world. And we, and she possibly, are seeing the cumulative impact of those choices.
AKA – play stupid hateful both-sidey lowest common denominator games, win stupid prizes.
She FA and is now FO. She thought maga would support her but doesn’t realize that demographic isn’t as large so people think. They’re vocal in all the wrong ways but the foot soldiers aren’t financially stable and don’t have the money to support what she’s selling. Also, women aren’t supporting the dumb blonde with big boobs persona. At this time, women are supporting other women who are leading with intellect and a fighting spirit. She’s trying to ride the fence but doesn’t want maga to turn on her. It also doesn’t look good that the streets are saying that she’s at odds with Zendaya.
In one of her recent interviews, she chose to very precisely correct the record…about how the jeans sales had been great. She also chose not to very precisely correct the record about eugenism – and she’s still doing that. That tells you exactly what matters to her.
Imagine trying to “both sides” a barely veiled eugenics dog whistle. Just own it, and stick with your MAGAT base. Maybe focus on community theater in Branson.
She wants people to watch her movies. She thought MAGA would’ve supported at the box office but they didn’t.
Ugh let’s hope she goes away like many before her. At least she can get some fake trophy like Trump from Trump probably…
She’s a dim bulb.
We don’t cancel men as hard as we cancel women. It looks like expectations of women being …something and stake burning are still the rage.
Everyone is talking about stranger things and nobody is bringing up Noah’s sticker gate anymore.
What about Tarantino abusing Uma?
She didn’t refused good advice. She meant what she said which is she’s a racist and a white supremacist. Plain and simple. Even when the Star of the show she’s got recognition from is a Black woman. She felt empowered by the orange plop and thought his supporters would flood the movie theaters and make her a super star. She probably thought she would become more famous and sought after than Zendaya. I’m so glad her vision failed spectacularly!!! I hope Zendaya ostracize her.
@Ben- The rumor is that Zendaya refuses to do any PR for the show with her.
Too late girl, you done destroyed your career! Supposedly her Euphoria castmates don’t mess with her.