Sydney Sweeney has said she should have addressed the controversy surrounding her American Eagle jeans advert, which was accused by critics of flirting with eugenics, saying not doing so “widened the divide” between people.
The actor, who made her name in HBO’s Euphoria, told People magazine she regretted staying silent during the row, in which Donald Trump at one point intervened. 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 the summer and was a huge success for the brand, which became the most popular jean for people aged 15 to 25. American Eagle’s stock also rose 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”. The financial magazine Forbes argued the brand should “reconsider” the campaign, and reported that American Eagle store visits were 9% down by the end of the summer.
“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 is “always trying to bring people together” and hopes the new year brings “more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us”.
