American Eagle breaks silence on Sydney Sweeney jeans ad controversy
American Eagle Outfitters is addressing its controversial ad starring actress Sydney Sweeney.
After days of discourse about the ad campaign starring the "Euphoria" actress, the clothing retailer spoke out and doubled down in an Instagram post shared Aug. 1.
"'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," the statement read. "Great jeans look good on everyone."
The company's clarification was aimed at critics who've called the promotional blitz a veiled attempt to endorse eugenics.
What was Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad?
The apparel brand's statement comes more than a week after the brand on July 23 launched its new campaign starring Sweeney, which includes a pair of pants – called "The Sydney Jean" – that raises money for the Crisis Text Line.
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based retailer originally described the fashion campaign as "a return to essential denim dressing," with Sweeney sporting 1970s-style flare jeans paired with a denim jacket.
In one of several videos for the campaign, Sweeney, clad in a denim-on-denim fit, dabbles in some word-play, telling cameras: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color."
"My jeans are blue," Sweeney said in the video.
The fall 2025 denim campaign featuring the 27-year-old rising star in Hollywood ends each promotional video with the tagline, "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans."
As part of the campaign, American Eagle also announced 100% of the purchase price from "The Sydney Jean" will go to Crisis Text Line, which offers free, 24/7 and confidential mental health support to anybody in need by texting 741741. The collection also supports another cause: The brand said in its July 23 announcement that the "Sydney Jean" has a butterfly on the back pocket to signal domestic violence awareness, "which Sydney is passionate about."
Sydney Sweeney ad divides social media, draws support from Trump's White House
Some shoppers felt that the ad's characterization of a blonde-haired blue-eyed woman as having "great genes" was a subtle nod to eugenics, the highly controversial and discredited belief that the human population can improve or advance itself through selective breeding.
Across the internet, parody videos began popping up, poking fun at Sweeney and the content of the campaign.
Musician Doja Cat even joined in, mocking the "good genes" monologue that sparked the original controversy with a hyperbolically "country" accent.
While Sweeney has not yet spoken out about the controversy, several prominent GOP members have chimed in on her behalf, including Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Vice President JD Vance.
White House's communications director Steven Cheung, a longtime adviser for President Donald Trump, also maligned the criticism, calling it "cancel culture run amok." He wrote on X July 29 that people are "tired" of this way of thinking," saying that "this warped, moronic and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024."
Marcus Collins, clinical assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, previously told Paste BN that in the case of some brand launches, the scrutiny may be the point. In 2025, the language comes amid a zeitgeist defined by major brands rolling back diversity and inclusive initiatives, according to Collins.
"This feels pretty on brand for (companies) these days," Collins said.
Contributing: Nicole Fallert
This story was updated to add new information.