Sydney Sweeney has spoken out about the controversy surrounding her American Eagle jeans advert, which was accused of flirting with eugenics, saying her silence only “widened the divide” between people. The Euphoria star told People magazine she regretted not addressing the row, in which Donald Trump at one point intervened.
The “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans” campaign launched in the summer and was a commercial success, making American Eagle the most popular jean for 15- to 25-year-olds and boosting the brand’s stock by 30%. However, critics said the use of a blond-haired, blue-eyed model carried undertones of white supremacy and was likened to “Nazi propaganda” on social media.
Sweeney admitted she was “honestly surprised by the reaction”, adding: “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 stressed she is “against hate and divisiveness” and hopes the new year brings “more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us”.
Trump had previously called the campaign the “hottest ad out there”, while Forbes argued the brand should reconsider it. Sweeney described the former president’s comment as “surreal”. The actor is considered an outside bet for an Oscar next year for her lead role in the boxing biopic Christy.
