Sydney Sweeney says her silence over jeans advert backlash ‘widened the divide’ | Sydney Sweeney
Actor Sydney Sweeney said she needed to address the controversy surrounding the American Eagle jeans ad, which critics accused of flirting with eugenics, and said failure to do so “widened the divide” between people.
Sweeney, who made her name with HBO’s Euphoria series and has since become one of Hollywood’s leading stars, told People magazine: I regret remaining silent During the fight, which Donald Trump intervened at one point.
While the actor said he was “against hate,” he said he “realized that my silence on this issue was not closing the gap, but only deepening it.”
The “Great jeans at Sydney Sweeney” campaign, launched in the summer, was a great success for the brand, becoming the most popular jeans for people aged 15-25. Shares of American Eagle also increased by 30%.
However, the company was criticized for having a blonde-haired, blue-eyed model say “she has a great pair of jeans” as having eugenic connotations and being a “salute to white supremacy”.
While some users on social media compared the ads to “Nazi propaganda”; One writer described the ad as “a message from the laboratory where they cook culture war pathogens.” Trump campaign “hottest ad out there”.
The brand has not only been criticized by the left of the political spectrum; Financial magazine Forbes also argued that it should be criticized in the same way: “rethinkThe campaign also reported that American Eagle store visits decreased by 9% by the end of summer.
“I was honestly surprised by the response,” Sweeney added. “I did this because I love the jeans and the brand. I do not support the views some people have chosen to connect with the campaign. Many have given me motifs and labels that are not accurate.”
“Anyone who knows me knows that I always try to bring people together. I am against hate and divisiveness,” he added.
“I hope this new year brings more focus on the things that unite us rather than the things that divide us.”
Sweeney is considered an outside bet for next year’s Oscar for his lead performance in Christy, David Michôd’s biopic about trailblazing boxer Christy Martin.
He mostly avoided the American Eagle ad in promotional interviews, but described Trump’s interpretation of it this way: “surreal”.
