American Eagle Responds to Sydney Sweeney ‘Great Jeans’ Controversy

American Eagle has finally issued a response to the controversy over its new “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” ads, insisting in a new statement that the campaign “is and always was about the jeans.”

Since it arrived last week, the campaign has turned into a culture war flashpoint, largely because of the way the tag line partly hinges on the homophone of “jeans” and “genes.” Some posters, for instance, read “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes,” with “genes” crossed out and “jeans” scribbled beneath. 

In another video (one that Doja Cat mocked on TikTok), Sweeney reads the following copy: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”

The decision to pair Sweeney — who has blonde hair and blue eyes — with a tagline like “has great jeans/genes” has prompted some on the left to accuse the campaign of subtly (or not-so-subtly) dog-whistling white supremacy and eugenics in Trump’s America. Meanwhile, some on the far right have celebrated the campaign for allegedly doing just that, though most have leaned into the strange politicization of Sweeney’s body as some kind of harbinger of the “death of woke.” 

In its new statement Friday, American Eagle tried to put some distance between itself, Sweeney, and the controversy. “We continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,” the company said. “Great jeans look good on everyone.” (Sweeney has yet to comment on the controversy herself.)