Sydney Sweeney registered as a Republican voter in Florida in June 2024, according to public records reviewed by the Guardian. The registration came shortly after she purchased a mansion in the Florida Keys and about two weeks after Donald Trump was convicted in New York. Trump, also a registered Republican in Florida, later won the 2024 presidential election.
The revelation follows a controversy over American Eagle's ad campaign featuring Sweeney, which uses puns on the word 'genes'. Some social media users criticised the ads as evoking eugenics rhetoric, while conservatives praised them as anti-'woke'. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung called the criticism 'cancel culture run amok'.
Sweeney previously faced backlash in 2022 after guests at her mother's birthday party wore hats resembling Trump's 'Make America Great Again' slogan. She then urged the public to 'stop making assumptions'. She has not commented on her voter registration.
American Eagle defended the campaign, stating it was 'always about the jeans'. The company's stock reportedly rose following the ads. The controversy contrasts with the 2023 Bud Light boycott, which led to a significant sales drop after a partnership with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.
