Actor Sydney Sweeney has said she should have addressed the controversy surrounding her American Eagle jeans advert, which critics accused of flirting with eugenics, admitting her silence 'widened the divide' between people.
Sweeney, known for her role in HBO's Euphoria, told People magazine she regretted staying silent during the row, which even drew comment from Donald Trump. She said she had 'come to realise that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it,' while stating she is 'against hate'.
The 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans' campaign launched in summer and was a huge success for the brand, making it the most popular jean for 15- to 25-year-olds and boosting American Eagle's stock by 30%. However, the use of a blond-haired, blue-eyed model was criticised as carrying undertones of eugenics and being 'a nod to white supremacy'.
Some social media users compared the ads to 'Nazi propaganda', while one writer described it as 'a message straight out of the lab where they cook up culture-war pathogens'. Trump called the campaign the 'hottest ad out there'. Forbes argued the brand should 'reconsider' the campaign, and store visits fell 9% by summer's end.
'I was honestly surprised by the reaction,' Sweeney added. '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 she hopes the new year brings 'more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us'.
Sweeney is considered an outside bet for an Oscar next year for her lead performance in Christy, David Michôd's biopic of boxer Christy Martin. She has mostly avoided the ad in interviews but described Trump's comment as 'surreal'.
