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'. The actor, known for HBO's Euphoria, told People magazine she regretted not speaking out during the row, which even drew comment from Donald Trump.
The 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans' campaign launched in summer and was a commercial success, making American Eagle the most popular jean brand for 15- to 25-year-olds and boosting its stock by 30%. However, the use of a blond-haired, blue-eyed model was criticised as carrying undertones of white supremacy and compared to 'Nazi propaganda' on social media.
Sweeney said 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.' She stressed she is 'against hate and divisiveness' and hopes the new year brings 'more focus on what connects us'.
The backlash came from both left and right; Forbes urged the brand to 'reconsider' the campaign, and store visits fell 9% by summer's end. Trump, meanwhile, called it the 'hottest ad out there'. Sweeney, an outside Oscar contender for her role in the Christy Martin biopic, described Trump's intervention as 'surreal'.
