American Eagle’s “great jeans” advertising campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney is at the center of the latest political firestorm online, drawing accusations of racial undertones in its messaging.
Sweeney, who rose to fame for her starring roles in HBO’s “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” is the star of the clothing retailer’s latest denim-focused fall campaign, with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
It’s a play on words for Sweeney’s “great genes.” Indeed, in one clip, which accrued more than 1.1 million views on American Eagle’s Instagram page, Sweeney stands before a poster of herself titled, “Sydney Sweeney has great genes,” before the word “genes” is crossed out and replaced with “jeans.”
The nod toward her “genes” is also made in another video, which further incited backlash from some users on platforms like TikTok, X and Threads who accused American Eagle of promoting eugenics, “white supremacy” and “Nazi propaganda.”
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” Sweeney says, before the camera pans up to her blue eyes. “My jeans are blue.”
A representative for Sweeney declined to comment. American Eagle did not respond to a request for comment.
As of Monday morning, neither Sweeney nor American Eagle had addressed the backlash publicly.
The campaign is for American Eagle’s new fall collection, featuring a limited-edition denim jacket and “The Sydney Jean,” created in collaboration with Sweeney. The jeans display a butterfly motif representing domestic violence awareness, and all revenue from its sales will be donated to the Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit offering free 24/7 mental health support, according to the campaign.
“Sweeney’s girl next door charm and main character energy — paired with her ability to not take herself too seriously — is the hallmark of this bold, playful campaign,” American Eagle wrote on its website last week.
The discourse has also drawn retaliatory backlash from others online who say the criticisms of the ad campaign are an exaggeration. Some are embracing the political undertone of the ad by hailing it as an end to overly “woke” marketing campaigns.
It’s the latest controversy to highlight a growing cultural rift over perceived “wokeness” as conservative-leaning culture swings back into the mainstream. In recent years, those on the online right have often praised media that unapologetically upholds traditional white American beauty standards, especially when it doesn’t come with any attempt to be inclusive.
These shifting ideals have been marked by an upswing in trends like the “old money” aesthetic, the end of the body positivity movement and the rise of the tradwife lifestyle in popular culture.
When American Eagle announced the collaboration with Sweeney last week, the company’s stock briefly soared.
But after sharing more than a dozen social media posts featuring Sweeney over the past few days, the brand’s latest post on Sunday starred a different model.
“Denim on denim on denim… on denim,” American Eagle wrote in the Instagram caption. “AE has great jeans👖✨”
Many commenters, who noticed that this model appeared to be nonwhite, were quick to call the new post “damage control.”
