Actress Sydney Sweeney, in a recent interview, opened up about the backlash to fashion label American Eagle’s controversial denim ad, saying she was caught off guard by people’s reactions.
Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign featured the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” a pun around ‘great genes’.
This drew severe backlash with many claiming that the advertisement was racist as it glorified the Euphoria star’s white heritage. Others took the issue with its male-gaze appeal and parallels to Brooke Shields’ 1980 denim campaign.
During an interaction with People, Sweeney said she was surprised by the backlash, stressing that she took part in the campaign simply because she supports the brand, not the motives others have attributed to her.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction. 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,” she said.
“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness,” Sweeney noted.
“In the past, my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press. But recently I have come to realise 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,” Sweeney added.
Sweeney first addressed the issue in an interview with GQ, saying, “I’ve always believed that I’m not here to tell people what to think...I know who I am. I know what I value. I know that I’m a kind person.”
The controversy surrounding the advertisement escalated to the level where US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance had to weigh in, expressing their support for the actress and the campaign. Sweeney called that moment “surreal”.
In August, the fashion label in an Instagram post responded to the online chatter stating that, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign was strictly about the jeans and Sweeney’s story, adding that it would continue celebrating how everyone wears AE denim with confidence.
Speaking about the campaign and the subsequent backlash, Sweeney shared, “I did a jeans ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life… I knew at the end of the day what that ad was for, and it was great jeans, it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”
Weeks after the launch, a press email from the brand stated the fashion label experienced record-breaking sales, including double-digit growth in its men’s and women’s denim categories.
Sweeney, 28, will be next seen in Paul Feig’s The Housemaid, set to hit theatres on 19 December. The cast also includes Elizabeth Perkins.