Sydney Sweeney recently told People magazine that “I’m against hate” while looking back at the controversy that erupted over her American Eagle jeans ad earlier this year. The campaign was centered on the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” The pun around “great genes” ignited outrage online, with many on social media alleging the company was glorifying the actor’s white heritage and thin physique. Some even compared the ads to “Nazi propaganda.”
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” Sweeney told People. “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,” Sweeney added. “In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it. So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”
Sweeney stayed silent on the controversy for months before talking about it for the first time in an interview with GQ magazine last month. The Emmy nominee said she was never tempted to put together a formal statement explaining or defending the ads during the height of backlash because “I’ve always believed that I’m not here to tell people what to think.”
“I know who I am. I know what I value. I know that I’m a kind person,” Sweeney said. “I know that I love a lot, and I know that I’m just excited to see what happens next. And so I don’t really let other people define who I am… I knew at the end of the day what that ad was for, and it was great jeans, it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”
As the controversy became national headlines, White House communications manager Steven Cheung weighed in by calling the backlash a prime example of “cancel culture run amok.” Vice President JD Vance then mocked liberals for creating a hysteria around campaign. The controversy worked itself all the way up to Donald Trump, who got asked about the ads amid reports that Sweeney was also a registered Republican and responded: “She’s a registered Republican? Oh, now I love her ad! You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans… If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!”
Sweeney told GQ magazine that “it was surreal” to have Trump and Vance weighing in on the ads, but she did not pay attention to the controversy at large.
“I kind of just put my phone away,” the actor said. “I was filming every day. I’m filming ‘Euphoria,’ so I’m working 16-hour days and I don’t really bring my phone on set, so I work and then I go home and I go to sleep. So I didn’t really see a lot of it.”
Sweeney next stars in “The Housemaid,” in theaters Dec. 19. Head over to People magazine’s website to read her latest interview in its entirety.
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