Sydney Sweeney shuts down question about American Eagle controversy: ‘I’m not hear to talk about jeans’

Sydney Sweeney has avoided questions about the backlash to a recent project (Picture: American Eagle)

Sydney Sweeney has made it clear she has no intention of addressing her recent ‘jeans’ controversy.

At the end of July, the American actress, 27, came under fire after ads for the brand American Eagle were rolled out.

The campaign saw the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress dressed in their denim, with a tagline reading: ‘Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.’

Meanwhile campaign videos saw the company use ‘genes’ and ‘jeans’ in a play on words.

‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour. My jeans are blue,’ she said in one of them, which was taken down from social media soon after being released.

The backlash came quick and fast, with many accusing the campaign of being ‘tone deaf’ and even promoting eugenics theory, which suggests that humanity could be improved through selective breeding.

The American actress was accused of taking part in a ‘tone-deaf campaign’ (Picture: James Veysey/ Shutterstock) She featured in a series of American Eagle ads that promoted her ‘great jeans’ (Picture: American Eagle) Some accused the campaign of promoting eugenics (Picture: RCF/ Mega)

At the time Sydney didn’t address the negative response – and has now indicated she won’t be speaking about it at all.

The actress – best known for her role in the teen drama Euphoria and The White Lotus – is next set to star in the upcoming biopic Christy, which will follow the rise of boxer Christy Martin, who was also brutally attacked by her husband, who tried to murder her, in 2010.

Sydney is currently promoting the film, where it will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend.

Speaking to Vanity Fair ahead of the event, she was asked if she might speak about the controversial campaign.

‘I am there to support my movie and the people involved in making it, and I’m not there to talk about jeans,’ she said,

‘The movie’s about Christy, and that’s what I’ll be there to talk about.’

The company has since said the campaign was a massive success (Picture: Michael M. Santiago/ Getty Images)

Although Sydney hasn’t spoken about the ‘good jeans’ backlash, in a statement American Eagle previously defended the campaign, writing: ‘We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.’

This week the company reported it saw a 10 per cent surge in sales soon after the advertisement’s release, that the jeans collaboration sold out within a week and said the ad campaign ‘generated unprecedented new customer acquisition.’

‘”Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” is not going anywhere,’ chief marketing officer Craig Brommers said.

‘Sydney will be part of our team as we get into the back half of the year, and we’ll be introducing new elements of the campaign as we continue forward.’

However Sydney shut down questions about the ads and instead said she wanted to focus on promoting her movie Christy (Picture: Everett/ Shutterstock)

A few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump even weighed in and supported the actress, who was recently revealed to be a registered Republican.

‘Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get ’em Sydney!,’ he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

In 2022 Sydney also found herself in the spotlight after sharing photos of her mum’s 60th birthday party, during which family members wore MAGA-style hats that read ‘make sixty great again’.

After being heavily criticised, she responded online, hitting back at people who she said were making an ‘innocent celebration’ into an ‘absurd political statement’.

One of Sydney’s next major roles is another biopic – Scandalous! – which will see her star as Vertigo actress Kim Novak and her ill-fated romance with Sammy Davies Jr.

However, this week Kim, 92, said she was ‘a little concerned’ about the upcoming film.

The actress also recently came under the spotlight when it was discovered she was a registered Republican (Picture: Rodin Eckenroth/ WireImage)

‘I have to speak out about the movie that’s about to be made about the Sammy Davis relationship,’ she told the audience, before explaining her issue with Sydney.

‘I think actors have a wonderful place to do whatever, but, in my case, I’m not an actress – I’m a re-actress. So therefore, I’d like to see somebody playing that role that is more of a re-actor than an actor.’

Kim went on to make it clear she had no issue with Sydney’s talent and said it was just her ‘personal feeling’ about the biopic.

‘I think that the person that is going to be doing it is a really wonderful actress, I truly do, she’s really good, but I don’t think we want an actress for that role.’

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