Jan 21, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Actress Sydney Sweeney sits courtside during the game between the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Sydney Sweeney is finally addressing the uproar surrounding her American Eagle jeans campaign — a marketing rollout that unexpectedly turned into one of the year’s biggest culture war flashpoints.
Sweeney Knows Who She Is
Nov 2, 2025; Avondale, Arizona, USA; Actress Sydney Sweeney brings out the checkered flag prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
In a new GQ cover story, the Euphoria star said she deliberately avoided issuing a formal statement during the height of the backlash. “I’ve always believed that I’m not here to tell people what to think,” Sweeney said. “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. So I don’t really let other people define who I am.”
The Great Genes Uproar of 2025
Grand marshal Sydney Sweeney waves to the crowd while riding with Hall of Famer Christy Martin, elected the first year women were included on the ballot, during the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s annual induction day Parade of Champions Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Canastota, New York. Felix Trinidad (right) waves to the crowd in the background.
The campaign, launched earlier this year, centered on the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” — a pun on “great genes” — and quickly spiraled into an online firestorm. Critics accused American Eagle of glorifying Sweeney’s white heritage and slim physique, calling the ads tone-deaf and exclusionary. When former President Donald Trump himself was asked about the ad — following reports that Sweeney is a registered Republican — he responded with characteristic flourish: “She’s a registered Republican? Oh, now I love her ad! You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!”
She Found The Whole Thing Surreal
Sweeney told GQ she found it “surreal” that national political figures were weighing in on a jeans campaign, but she mostly tuned it out. “I kind of just put my phone away,” she said. “I was filming Euphoria, working 16-hour days. I don’t really bring my phone on set, so I work and then I go home and I go to sleep. I didn’t really see a lot of it.” Still, the controversy appeared to benefit American Eagle. The company’s stock reportedly jumped 38% in the weeks following the uproar. “I was aware of the numbers as it was going,” Sweeney said. “When I saw headlines saying in-store visits were down, none of it was true. It was all made up, but nobody could say anything because [the company was] in their quiet period. So it was all just a lot of talk.”
Sweeney Won’t Let Controversy Affect Her
Now promoting Christy — her well-reviewed biopic about boxer Christy Martin — Sweeney says she’s focused on her work, not the noise. Asked about fans who might boycott her projects over the jeans ad or her rumored politics, she was unbothered. “If somebody is closed off because of something they read online to a powerful story like Christy, then I hope something else can open their eyes,” she said. “I’m not going to be affected by that.”
