Critics from MSNBC, Salon, and The Washington Post have accused Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans ad of promoting racist and ‘regressive’ themes, linking it to ‘Whiteness’ and eugenics. The ad, which features Sweeney crossing out ‘Genes’ and replacing it with ‘Jeans,’ sparked controversy for its alleged cultural implications.
MSNBC producer Hanna Holland wrote that the ad, the choice of Sweeney as the sole face, and the internet’s reaction reflect an ‘unbridled cultural shift toward Whiteness, conservatism, and capitalist exploitation,’ with Sweeney being both a ‘symptom and a participant.’
Sweeney’s American Eagle ad campaign, titled ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,’ went viral on social media for controversial reasons. In one promo video posted to AE’s Instagram page, the 27-year-old actress walked toward an AE billboard featuring her and the tagline ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes.’ Sweeney crossed out ‘Genes’ and replaced it with ‘Jeans’ before walking away.
American Eagle’s website also noted that the ‘butterfly motif on the back pocket of the jean represents domestic violence awareness, which Sydney is passionate about.’ The site states that 100% of the purchase price from ‘The Sydney Jean’ will be donated to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit offering free, 24/7, confidential mental health support.
Despite the jeans promoting a good cause, online critics were fixated on the ad’s alleged White supremacist undertones. Liberal outlets like Salon piled in on the backlash, with the outlet’s weekend editor CK Smith linking the tagline to ‘eugenics movements.’ He noted that ‘eugenics movements in the U.S. often promoted the idea of ‘good genes’ to encourage reproduction among White, able-bodied people while justifying the forced sterilization of others.’
An analysis by Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian and the Post’s media and fashion writer Shane O’Neil bolstered the claims made by the ad’s online critics. Tashjian wrote that the ad’s focus on thinness, Whiteness, and wealth porn feels regressive in a context where fashion and pop culture had previously been dedicated to body positivity.
O’Neil compared the ad campaign to the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump, noting that the tagline ‘Sydney Sweeney has great jeans’ reminded him of the DHS’s racially charged imagery. Robin Landa, a professor from Kean University, also linked the pun ‘good jeans’ to the eugenics movement, stating that the American eugenics movement weaponized the idea of ‘good genes’ to justify White supremacism.
American Eagle did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.