American Eagle has responded to the controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s jeans campaign.
The retailer took to Instagram on Friday (Aug. 1) to issue a statement.
“‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story,” American Eagle wrote.
“We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Sweeney has yet to respond.
Over the last few days, American Eagle’s campaign centering the Euphoria actress has faced significant backlash, with many taking issue with its play on “jeans” and “genes.” Many have pointed out the campaign’s racial undertones, which are increasingly apparent because Sweeney is white with blonde hair and blue eyes.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,” Sweeney says in the ad. “My jeans are blue.”
As American Eagle mentioned in its IG post, the campaign’s tagline is, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” An IG reel shared by the company shows the 27-year-old actress standing in front of a poster of herself that says, “Sydney Sweeney has great genes.” The word “genes” is then crossed out and replaced with “jeans.”
Many Republicans view the outrage as liberal hysteria, even though no high-profile Democrat has commented on the situation. JD Vance mocked liberals on the conservative podcast, Ruthless.
“My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi,” he said, per Variety. “That appears to be their actual strategy.”
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