Sweeney's blue jeans have gone viral for all the wrong reasons. Why are people angry at Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle jeans ad?

Sweeney's blue jeans have gone viral for all the wrong reasons.

Why are people angry at Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle jeans ad?

Sweeney's blue jeans have gone viral for all the wrong reasons.

By Mekishana Pierre

Published on July 29, 2025 06:44PM EDT

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Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle. Credit:

Sydney Sweeney's jeans have landed her in hot water.**

The *Anyone But You* star's new campaign for the American Eagle brand has led to viral backlash and it's not because fans believe the star is being sexually objectified — although there's a bit of that to go around as well.**

The campaign, titled "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," is based on the seemingly harmless play on words for the 27-year-old's "great genes" and has struck a discordant chord with crowds that have accused the brand of glorifying a racial ideal during a fraught political era.

Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle.

Some claim that the ads are promoting eugenics ideology — which promotes white genetic superiority and historically enabled the forced sterilization of marginalized groups — sending out a eugenicist dog whistle, and riling critics on the opposite end of the spectrum who blame it all on "wokeism."

So what exactly about American Eagle's ads set off the alarms and why does this tie to Sweeney's previous controversies? Read on to get the whole story.

What does Sydney Sweeney say in her American Eagle ads?

American Eagle released several ads for its "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," campaign, all which feature the actress in a pair of blue jeans in various locations doing simple things like looking down into the engine of her Ford Mustang — a very all-american muscle car — before she settles behind the wheel and takes off.

In each ad, Sweeney takes a moment to either wipe her hands on the seat of her jeans or stick her hands into her back pockets, making sure to draw viewers' eyes to her jeans before the campaign title pops up onscreen.

In another ad, Sweeney changes a poster of herself that reads, "Sydney Sweeney has great genes," to have the word "genes" crossed out and replaced with "jeans."

However, the series' most criticized ad is one in which the actress actually speaks.

In the ad, Sweeney is shown reclining on a couch as she fastens her pants and says quietly, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My genes are blue." Then a male narrator concludes, "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans."

The ad, along with several other videos, have been removed from the brand's official accounts. But considering it's displayed on a billboard in Times Square, it's hard to ignore.

Why is the ad controversial?

"Sweeney's girl next door charm and main character energy — paired with her ability to not take herself too seriously — is the hallmark of this bold, playful campaign," American Eagle wrote in the press release for the campaign on its website last week.

But onlookers are saying that the ad boasting about Sweeney's "good genes" is anything but playful.

Content creators flocked to TikTok to share their thoughts on the brand's messaging, calling American Eagle out for having a white, blond, blue-eyed woman talking about "good genes."

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In a video that has racked up over 300,000 likes, user saltlacroix, who says she works in advertising, said the campaign is one of many that fits under the concept of "BEIGE: Boring and Engineered to Identify with Gentrification and Eugenics."

User jessbritvich noted in her video that the campaign wasn't created in a social bubble and seems particularly pointed during a "rise of facism in America."

"It's echoing the language of white purity politics, and purity of blond hair and blue eyes," she added. "This language has cultural context... No, I really don't think this is an accident."

Advertising expert Robin Landa, a professor at Michael Graves College at Kean University, echoed similar sentiments while speaking to *Newsweek*, telling the outlet that the campaign "isn't just tone-deaf--it's historically loaded."**

Landa told the outlet that "careless wordplay in advertising can help normalize exclusionary beliefs with consequences that extend far beyond product sales."

Sydney Sweeney; Doja Cat.

Ethan Miller/Getty; Pascal Le Segretain/Getty for Balmain

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Writer and TikTok user E.B. Johnson also weighed in, noting that the ad seemed to echo a specific line from vintage Calvin Klein commercials: "The secret of life lies hidden in the genetic code."

Johnson continued: "We really have to question ourselves. Why are these women so willing to engage in media and culture that promotes moments like this … for the bag?"

Even Doja Cat has gotten in on the discourse — albeit, in her own way.

In a TikTok posted on Tuesday, the rapper recites the *Euphoria* star's controversial ad script word for word, but instead of matching Sweeney's sensual tone from the original ad, Doja says the lines in an exaggerated backwoods accent.

Has Sydney Sweeney said anything about the backlash?

Neither Sweeney nor American Eagle have spoken out about the online criticisms against the campaign.

** has reached out to reps for both Sweeney and the brand for further comment.**

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