What started as a cheeky play on words for American Eagle has quickly spiraled into one of the most polarizing fashion campaigns of the summer. The fashion brand’s Fall 2025 campaign, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” starring the Euphoria and White Lotus star, was supposed to be a celebration of classic denim.
Instead, it’s ignited a heated online debate, with some accusing the brand of subtly endorsing eugenics and white supremacy.
The controversy centers on a now-viral video where Sydney Sweeney stands in front of a poster labeled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes,” which is then crossed out and replaced with “Jeans.”
Another ad features the actress looking directly into the camera and saying: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.” The camera lingers on her blue eyes. She smirks. “My jeans are blue.” That line alone sparked backlash across TikTok, Threads, and X, with critics slamming it as tone-deaf at best and insidiously dog-whistling at worst. See what you think:
A less controversial spot features Sweeney’s best ASSet:
Neither Sweeney nor American Eagle has responded publicly to the backlash as of publication, though a rep for Sweeney declined comment when reached. Meanwhile, American Eagle’s latest Instagram post features a different model, and many in the comments were quick to call it “damage control.”
But others are defending the campaign, hailing it as a return to fashion that isn’t afraid to spotlight conventional beauty. “Finally, a brand that’s not trying to lecture me,” one supporter posted on X. “She looks great, and so do the jeans.”
In the midst of the debate, the campaign’s actual product line is being somewhat overshadowed, though it’s notable. Sweeney partnered with her longtime stylist Molly Dickson to design “The Sydney Jean,” a limited-edition pair with a butterfly motif on the back pocket to raise awareness for domestic violence. All proceeds from the jeans go to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit providing free 24/7 mental health support via text (741741).
American Eagle has also gone big with their media buy—placing the campaign on the Exosphere at the Sphere in Vegas, rolling out 3D billboards, a custom Snapchat lens, and AI-powered try-on tech to bring Sweeney’s denim picks to life.
The creative was led by American Eagle President and Executive Creative Director Jennifer Foyle, who called the campaign “a celebration of what makes the brand iconic, trendsetting denim that leads, never follows.”
This isn’t the first time Sweeney has made headlines for a campaign that struck some as controversial. Earlier this year, she appeared in a Dr. Squatch ad that featured her lounging in a bathtub and playfully selling soap in a way that many viewers described as “bathwater bait.”
While some fans embraced the cheeky tone, others criticized the spot as tone-deaf and overly suggestive, accusing the brand of relying on Sweeney’s sex appeal to push product rather than creativity. It sparked an online firestorm not unlike the current “genes/jeans” backlash, reinforcing the fact that when Sweeney stars in a campaign, the internet is always ready with hot takes.
If nothing else, it’s done exactly what American Eagle surely wanted: got people talking. Whether it’ll translate to sales or more trouble is still up in the air. But one thing’s clear: Sydney Sweeney definitely has great jeans.
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360 News. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
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Dr. Squatch invites us to take a shower with Sydney Sweeney
