Sydney Sweeney and her infamous jeans dominated headlines last summer for all the wrong reasons – and almost one year on, she’s referenced the controversy in a brand new ad.
The Euphoria star sparked a public backlash last July over an American Eagle ad poster featuring Sweeney wearing jeans and a denim jacket with the tagline: “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes”, however the last word was crossed out and replaced with ‘jeans’.
Many criticised the use of the slogan, highlighting that the phrase “great genes” has historically been used in the language of eugenicists, who believe the human race can be improved genetically by selective breeding. It also faced flak for applying the slogan to an ad starring Sydney Sweeney, who is white, blonde and considered to be a Gen Z pin-up girl.
Despite the discourse and debate that raged on for weeks after the ad’s release, Sweeney has now seemingly given a nod to the controversial campaign in a new clip for American Eagle – this time, promoting their jean shorts.
“What brand am I wearing?” Sweeney says in the ad, before we see her walk along the beach and toss her blonde bob about in between close-ups of her shorts.
She then smiles at the camera and says: “Yeah. That one.” The line appears to be reference to her controversial “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign.
The brand will donate all proceeds from custom pieces to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit that provides free and confidential mental health and crisis support through text messaging.
The backlash to the original ad resulted in MAGA supporters coming to Sweeney’s defence, while President Donald Trump praised the campaign when he found out that she was a registered Republican, writing on social media that she had “the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there”.
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Following the initial campaign, American Eagle doubled down on the controversial tag line, saying in August: “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans.
“Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
The same month, Sweeney declined to comment on the controversy when interviewed byThe Wall Street Journal. However, in December, she finally spoke out about the campaign, admitting that her initial silence “widened the divide”.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” she stated. “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. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness.”
