American Eagle’s newest denim campaign starring actress Sydney Sweeney has ignited an online firestorm. Since the ad dropped last week, critics have accused the brand of using racially charged language that makes light of eugenics.
The campaign, built around the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” hinges on a visual pun. In a video posted to American Eagle’s Instagram, Sweeney stands in front of a poster reading “Sydney Sweeney has great genes”—before the word “genes” is crossed out and replaced with “jeans.” In a voiceover, Sweeney elaborates: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring… even eye color,” before the camera pans to her blue eyes. “My jeans are blue.”
For some viewers, that pun crossed a line. Critics on TikTok, Threads, and X have accused American Eagle of promoting the ideals of white supremancy while hiding behind cheeky marketing. “It’s just Nazi propaganda with better lighting,” one commenter wrote. While other social media users note the timing of the ad during an era where political tensions over reproductive rights and coded language in the media has everyone on edge.
The backlash underscores a deeper cultural reckoning with how beauty, race, and history intersect in advertising. Advertising scholar Robin Landa told Newsweek that the phrase “good genes” carries a dark legacy, once central to American eugenics ideology and used to justify the forced sterilization of marginalized groups. “The campaign’s pun isn’t just tone-deaf—it’s historically loaded,” Landa said.
American Eagle has not responded publicly to the criticism. Sweeney’s team also declined to comment.
The denim campaign, which includes a limited-edition “Sydney Jean” and denim jacket, is linked to a philanthropic effort: proceeds will be donated to the Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit that provides free 24/7 mental health support. The jeans include a butterfly motif referencing domestic violence awareness.
Still, backlash to the campaign comes amid growing fatigue with brand messaging that flirts with controversy in pursuit of attention. The choice of Sweeney—a blonde actress often praised by conservative media for embodying “classic American beauty”—only sharpened the critique. Some commenters pointed to the campaign’s similarities to the infamous Calvin Klein ads starring Brooke Shields in the 1980s, which were condemned for sexualizing a then-14-year-old. That American Eagle would echo that campaign in 2024 raises fresh concerns about how far the fashion industry has—or hasn’t—come.
Despite the controversy, American Eagle’s stock rose 4% following the campaign’s release, suggesting commercial success even with the cultural outcry.
