They branded a simple jeans spot “racist.” Sydney Sweeney didn’t flinch—she calls the uproar downright surreal.
Leftist outrage exploded this summer when Sweeney touted “great jeans” in a tongue-in-cheek ad for American Eagle. Critics twisted “genes” into a conspiracy about white supremacy and cried foul.
Behind the noise, the truth was clear: American Eagle’s in-store traffic didn’t crater. Sweeney told GQ the viral rumors of plunging sales were pure fiction lockdown-period press fodder.
“I saw all the talk about visits being down,” she said. “None of it was true. Zero. It didn’t move the needle for me—or the brand.” She stayed focused on filming, barely glanced at her phone, and let the hysteria bubble without her.
American Eagle stood firm. Their statement was unambiguous: “It’s about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. Great jeans look good on everyone.” No corporate backpedaling. No groveling.
Then out came the big guns. President Donald J. Trump beamed when he learned Sweeney is a registered Republican. “Now I love her ad,” he told reporters. “She’s a Republican? Fantastic.”
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance didn’t hold back, either. On the “Ruthless” podcast he mocked the left’s meltdown: “You have a beautiful all-American girl in a jeans ad, and the radicals scream ‘Nazi.’ Did they miss November 2024?”
Sweeney refuses to play the victim. When asked about the ad’s so-called racial subtext, she was unflappable: “If I want to speak on something real, you’ll hear it from me.”
This saga lays bare two Americas: one side weaponizes outrage to bully a harmless fashion spot; the other side stands tall, refuses to bow, and keeps selling great jeans. Sydney Sweeney—and American Eagle—just proved who’s got the backbone.
