Sydney Sweeney has found herself at the epicenter of a major brand storm this past week, thanks to her role in American Eagle’s latest jeans campaign. The campaign—featuring the punchline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes”—sparked criticism for allegedly evoking eugenics and white supremacy themes due to its focus on “genes,” blue eyes, and the actress’s image. Social media platforms exploded: TikTok in particular has been flooded with content dissecting the ad’s tone and marketing approach, with many arguing it exposed “the biggest marketing secret of 2025,” while others zeroed in on its exclusionary undertones. American Eagle’s response to the backlash has been anything but typical; Modern Retail reports that the company brought in outside crisis PR specialists from Actum to handle inquiries, though the nature of that partnership quickly grew murky after corporate communications disavowed an Actum representative’s earlier comment and then refused further clarification. The brand’s CMO, Craig Brommers, publicly declared Sweeney “the biggest get in the history of our brand,” emphasizing her “accessible” appeal and likening her image to the American Eagle ethos.
Amid this uproar, the discourse reached the highest levels of American culture and politics when former President Donald Trump publicly backed Sweeney, citing her Republican affiliation and voicing support for her embattled campaign. Sweeney herself has largely steered clear of direct statements on the controversy but did re-emerge in public on August 3 at the red carpet premiere of her film Americana in Los Angeles, as reported by Ground News. Shortly after, she was seen unwinding with Euphoria co-stars Jacob Elordi, Hunter Schafer, and Maude Apatow—a night documented in now-viral videos showing the group singing karaoke and enjoying dinner, offering fans a candid break from the headlines.
Elsewhere professionally, Sweeney remains in demand. Fresh off a limited release of Echo Valley, and with filming for season 3 of Euphoria underway, she is set to headline Christy, the Christy Martin boxing biopic, undergoing notable training for the role. Plus, Paul Feig’s psychological thriller The Housemaid, co-starring Amanda Seyfried, awaits its debut.
Major headlines within the past 24 hours circle almost exclusively around the fallout of the American Eagle ad, the rapid-fire social sentiment, and Sweeney's mixture of silence and unbothered public appearances. For American Eagle and Sydney alike, the long-term significance of this week could reverberate beyond fashion and into the broader cultural zeitgeist, depending on how both navigate the fallout and recalibrate their public faces. No significant developments from American Eagle's C-suite or other executives have broken through independently this week beyond Brommers’ quoted remarks regarding the scale and strategy of Sweeney’s campaign.
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