Sydney Sweeney has been making headlines for a number of different reasons this year, including her highly-publicized split from fiancé Jonathan Davino and her jaw-dropping transformation into former professional boxer Christy Martin for the upcoming movie, Christy.
She also caused a huge stir when she starred in an ad campaign for American Eagle, which was slammed as “racist” and “Nazi propaganda,” among other things, on social media.
The Euphoria alum didn’t address the controversy surrounding the ad at the time, but she is now breaking her silence!
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Sydney Sweeney Breaks Her Silence About American Eagle Ad Backlash
In her new GQ cover interview, the 28-year-old Anyone But You actress touched on a variety of topics – including, of course, the uproar over the American Eagle campaign!
"I did a jean ad," the blonde beauty bluntly said. She went on: "I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise. But it was… I love jeans! All I wear are jeans. I'm literally in jeans and a T-shirt like every day of my life."
Although the campaign sparked major backlash on social media, it did win one very unexpected fan: President Donald Trump. Shortly after it was reported that Sweeney is a registered Republican, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to praise her and the ad! He wrote: "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get 'em Sydney!"
When GQ asked if she felt "thankful" to have such a powerful figure publicly backing her, she didn't give too much away with her response, and simply said: "Hm, I don't think that… it's not that I didn't have that feeling but I wasn't thinking of it like that, of any of it."
The Madame Web star went on to explain that she hadn't really seen much of the online discourse at all, mostly due to her fully-packed work days!
"I'm working like 16-hour days and I don't really bring my phone on set," she said, referring to filming the third and final season of Euphoria with Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, and more. "So, I work and then I go home and I go to sleep. So, I didn't really see a lot of it," she added. Interesting!
What Was The Backlash Surrounding Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle Ad?
The controversy started when American Eagle released a tongue-in-cheek campaign featuring the blonde haired and blue-eyed actress, with the tagline: "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans."
The 'jeans' vs. 'genes' play on words was meant to be a light-hearted pun, but didn't seem to have the desired effect, as it sparked outrage on social media almost immediately! Critics accused the brand of echoing racist and fascist imagery, arguing that the ad unintentionally resembled Nazi propaganda praising Aryan features.
"I will be the friend that's too woke, but those Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ads are weird. Like, fascist weird. Like Nazi propaganda weird," TikTok user @midwesterngothic said in a viral video. "Should we be surprised that a company whose name is literally American Eagle is making fascist propaganda like this? Probably not, but it's still really shocking."
Another viewer said: "I thought it was gonna be, like, kinda bad, but wow. That's gonna be in history books!"
Someone else added: "If you haven't seen or comprehended how bad it is, I need you to open your [expletive] eyeballs and listen. This is Nazi [expletive]. Pure Nazi [expletive]. Saying that a blonde-hair, blue-eyed girl has 'good genes' is Nazi [expletive]."
Others took to X to echo the same sentiments. "Now that I'm really thinking about it, that Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad IS racist," one person said. Another joked: "I was wondering how Sydney's American Eagle ad would backfire because it was released during a Mercury retrograde – and then we come to find out it's a legitimate Nazi advertisement."
