American Eagle, the US denim brand popular with teens, has faced backlash over a new campaign starring Sydney Sweeney, with critics alleging it uses eugenics-tinged language. The ad, which plays on the homophones 'genes' and 'jeans', shows the blonde, blue-eyed actress discussing her inherited traits. One clip features Sweeney saying: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality, and even eye colour. My jeans are blue.'
Critics on TikTok and social media have compared the advert to 'fascist propaganda', with one user noting: 'a blonde haired, blue-eyed white woman is talking about her good genes, like, that is Nazi propaganda'. The campaign has also drawn comment from US senator Ted Cruz, who defended it against 'the crazy Left'. Academics have weighed in, with Sophie Gilbert of the Atlantic saying the slogan 'winks at the obsession with eugenics that’s so prevalent among the modern right'.
The ad also focuses on Sweeney's body, with a camera zooming in on her breasts as she says: 'My body’s composition is determined by my jeans.' Dr Sarah Cefai of Goldsmiths, University of London, described the sexualisation as 'a racialised fantasy of whiteness'. Aria Halliday, author of 'Buy Black', linked the campaign to a wider cultural shift recentering whiteness, citing factors like GLP-1 weight loss drugs and rising unemployment among Black women.
American Eagle did not respond to requests for comment. The controversy comes amid a broader trend of fashion campaigns pushing boundaries, with historical parallels to Calvin Klein's provocative denim ads from the 1980s and 1990s.
