Sydney Sweeney has said she regrets not addressing the controversy surrounding her American Eagle jeans advert, which critics accused of flirting with eugenics. The actor told People magazine that her silence 'widened the divide' between people, adding: 'I am against hate.'
The campaign, which featured a blond-haired, blue-eyed model declaring 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans', was a commercial success for the brand, boosting American Eagle's stock by 30% and making it the most popular denim for 15- to 25-year-olds. However, critics on social media compared the ads to 'Nazi propaganda' and accused them of white supremacy undertones. Donald Trump called it the 'hottest ad out there', while Forbes argued the company should 'reconsider' the campaign.
Sweeney said she was 'honestly surprised by the reaction', adding that she did the advert because she loves the jeans and the brand, and does not support the views some people attached to it. 'Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren't true,' she said.
The Euphoria star, who is tipped for an Oscar nomination for her role in the Christy Martin biopic Christy, said she hopes the new year brings 'more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us'. She previously described Trump's intervention in the row as 'surreal'.
