Sydney Sweeney has spoken out about the American Eagle jeans debate for the first time, explaining why she chose not to put out a statement at the height of the controversy.
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The July campaign, called ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’, became embroiled in controversy after some social media users alleged that the pun on “jeans” and “genes” being part of an advertising campaign with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman promoted eugenics and white supremacy.
A number of prominent figures weighed in, including White House communications director Steven Cheung, Vice President JD Vance, and even President Donald Trump himself, who was asked about the campaign amid claims that Sweeney was a registered Republican.
“She’s a registered Republican? Oh, now I love her ad!” he said. “You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans … If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!”
She’s previously declined to address the backlash, shutting down the discussion in an interview with Vanity Fair in September.
But now, speaking to GQ, Sweeney said that she never planned to put out a statement explaining or defending the campaign because, “I’ve always believed that I’m not here to tell people what to think.”
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She continued, “I know who I am. I know what I value. I know that I’m a kind person. I know that I love a lot, and I know that I’m just excited to see what happens next. And so I don’t really let other people define who I am.”
The two-time Primetime Emmy nominee, who’s currently filming the third (and possibly final) season of teen drama Euphoria, admitted that she was surprised by the backlash, explaining that she loves wearing jeans herself and that “it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”
She said it was “surreal” to have political figures like Trump and Vance sharing their opinions on the situation, but that she didn’t pay too much attention to the controversy otherwise. “I kind of just put my phone away,” she admitted. “I was filming every day. I’m filming Euphoria, so I’m working 16-hour days and I don’t really bring my phone on set, so I work and then I go home and I go to sleep. So I didn’t really see a lot of it.”
Sweeney’s latest movie, the sports biopic Christy – which has received a mixed reception from critics – is out in cinemas on November 7 and 28 in the US and UK respectively. She plays the titular character, former boxer Christy Martin, and co-produced the film, too. Her next film, psychological thriller The Housemaid, is set for release on December 19 in the US and a week later in the UK.
To people who might decide not to watch Christy or Sweeney’s other projects because of her political views or the American Eagle ad, she said, “I think that if somebody is closed off because of something they read online to a powerful story like Christy, then I hope that something else can open their eyes to being open to art and being open to learning, and I’m not going to be affected by that.”
As for her role on Euphoria, Sweeney said last month that the idea of her no longer working on the show leaves her feeling “terrified”. About wrapping the season, she told Variety, “It’s gonna be a really bittersweet moment. I’m kind of terrified for how emotional it’s gonna be. It’s been such a journey. It’s been my entire 20s. They’ve been my family and friends for so long. I’ve been forever grateful for all of them.”
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