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.
