Sydney Sweeney drama: JD Vance addresses American Eagle ad controversy
The Nazi party used the pseudoscience of eugenics, which promotes some genetic features as better than others, to justify the killing of Jews and countless other minority groups during the Holocaust.
Sydney Sweeney dishes on the best jeans, her favorite rom-com and what's on her playlist
American Eagle's campaign, which has spawned a fierce cultural debate, used wordplay to describe Sweeney, 27, as having "good genes," a wordplay to promote the brand's denim jeans. Critics have said the ad blitz amounts to a glorification of whiteness and a dog whistle for racist ideologies. But her supporters have said the ad is meant to be a light-hearted wordplay, defending the "Euphoria" actress and the brand.
Sweeney previously told USA TODAY that denim was a staple of her wardrobe, but left out AE in her list of favored brands at the time.
"I'm very much a white, plain T-shirt kind of girl. I jump around from a bunch of different brands and that kind of depends on what vibe I want to go for," she said. "I have my Levi's white T-shirts and my Cotton On white T-shirts that are just paired with casual jeans. Jean wise: I mean, I love Levi's, Frame, Agolde."
Sydney Sweeney controversy, explained
In one of several videos for AE, Sweeney, clad in a denim-on-denim outfit, says: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color."
"My jeans are blue," she says as the camera pans across her blue denim and her blue eyes. Soon after the campaign dropped, people began to sound the alarm on what they saw as a dangerous message about the beauty ideal, race and "good" versus "bad" genes.
Vance, though, chalked the whole ordeal up to an overreaction from the "left" and a doubling down on a strategy that he thinks lost the Democrats the 2024 presidential election.
Dunkin' ad about 'genetics' draws comparisons to Sydney Sweeney drama
"I actually thought that one of the lessons (Democrats) might take is 'we're going to be less crazy.' And the lesson they have apparently taken is 'we're going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful,'" he said on the podcast. "Great strategy, guys. That's how you're going to win the midterm, especially young American men."
The ad's critics, however, argued that a campaign selling jeans to women should not have been shot so clearly from the male gaze. Some consumers were quick to point out what they saw as the regressive nature of the material: A buxom blonde woman drawing attention to her body and employing a sensual tone, they argued, calling back to a stereotypical symbol of a bygone era.
"Wasn't she the one who said she didn't want to be seen as an object?" one commenter asked on Sweeney's Instagram page, while another chided: "We can leave Nazi Germany back where it got conquered ty next!!!"
Sweeney has not yet spoken out about the controversy, though several prominent members of the GOP have chimed in on her behalf. Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, for instance, took to X on July 29 to blast the left for criticizing the ad.
"Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women. I'm sure that will poll well...." he wrote.
White House's communications director Steven Cheung, a longtime adviser for President Donald Trump, also maligned the criticism, calling it "cancel culture run amok."
"This warped, moronic and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024," he wrote on X July 29, adding that people are "tired" of this way of thinking.
But, when a second ad campaign, this time from Dunkin', dropped featuring the same "genetic" themes, many critics felt vindicated, arguing that it signaled a greater cultural shift toward genetic hierarchy and racism.
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The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Jeans, controversy, used bathwater: Sydney Sweeney's selling it all. A showbiz masterclass, if you ask me
'SORRY FOR HAVING GREAT TITS AND CORRECT OPINIONS.' Not my words, readers (although, having said that …), but the words of a sweatshirt worn across the aforementioned acclaimed rack of Sydney Sweeney last year, shortly after some madly overheated controversy or other involving the Euphoria/Anyone But You star. I forget which controversy. Like Marvel movies, too many Sydney Sweeney controversies were made, and they all seemed to connect to each other in ways no one but the truly initiated could understand, so now only the saddos turn out for each and every one. You might dimly be aware there's another one going on at the moment, following Sydney's participation in an American Eagle denim advert – a fashion retail event which obviously spiralled into some fatuous blue jeans/red state flame-war that has seen deranged TikTokers claim something about 'eugenics', the president trouser-rubbingly decide he likes Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle shares climb 23% in a week. Tell me the US will still be Earth's dominant superpower in 30 years because I simply DON'T want to hear anything else. This is the behaviour of a culture with legs. (And a perfect ass, sorry if you can't handle it.) Anyway, aside from the white supremacist lunacy, there is frothing disquiet about the extent of Sweeney's commercial brand partnerships, which include Miu Miu, Armani Beauty and a men's grooming product firm for which she recently did a tongue-in-cheek ad to flog soap that contained trace elements of her bathwater. It all seems quite a lot of lucrative fun, which must, of course, be stamped on, particularly when it seems to be being had by a woman. I had to laugh at the intervention in a New York Times article of the fashion analyst who said: 'It seems like she's not embarrassed or ashamed by promoting all of these different projects.' Oh my God. Imagine! In fact, that explicit mention of shame reminded me of something that I'd read last year in the Guardian, which described Sydney Sweeney as 'problematic yet unashamed'. I do so enjoy these funny ways of talking – although perhaps one's not supposed to? I certainly genuinely loved the moment last year when Sweeney offered Vanity Fair a temperature check on the aspirational sisterhood of … hang on, let me get my reading glasses on … the Hollywood movie business. 'This entire industry, all people say is 'women empowering other women',' Sydney explained. 'None of it's happening. All of it is fake and a front for all the other shit that they say behind everyone's back.' Oof. Ladies and gentlemen, she went there. And how can you not love it? Chalk up another correct opinion and just accept that Sydney might not now get cast in a strong-female-led film based on a kids' book, inspired by a theme-park ride or commissioned by a toy company. As for Sydney's online adversaries, what is it that cliched enemy characters say in the movies? 'You and I, we are not so different after all.' Fact is, Sydney Sweeney is an actor. She wants attention. And – newsflash – so does some dreary TikToker making the nutty claim that American Eagle has done a white supremacist advert. They're just a million miles less good at it than Sydney. Unless, of course, my other theory is true: that there are masses of undercover Maga agents whose sole job is to pose as woke warriors and say things so provocatively dumb that they further degrade the already cratered global reputation of the American left. Or, to couch it in their preferred language: if the vice-president and Fox News seize delightedly and profitably upon the usefully idiotic things you say, then it's just possible you are in your least desirable location – 'the wrong side of history'. Or, to put it in even more basic terms: YOU ARE NOT HELPING. Furthermore – and perhaps even more importantly – you are making the world less amusing. What you have failed to understand is something that us normies know instinctively. Namely, that this is how we want our celebrities, and most particularly our movie stars, to act. Most ordinary people want – and have always wanted – their movie stars to be gorgeous, fantastical, completely ridiculous figures in any number of ways, or else they'd be the most boring thing in the world: just like us. We want our movie stars to be 'unashamedly' hot. We want our movie stars to tell us that they literally have to sell their own bathwater to eat, then find out they have a property empire that includes but is not limited to a $3m house in Westwood, a $6m house in Bel Air and a $13.5m house on a private Floridian island with a 520-bottle wine cellar, an aquarium and an infinity pool with a swim-up bar. Of course, not everyone's a normie. It will have come to your attention that there are some people out there who want celebrities to drone on about causes, to post like it makes the blindest bit of difference and to hold fundraisers for Joe Biden till it's miles too late. But these people are strategically bankrupt, don't really have a cultural hinterland and should largely be avoided at parties. Listen, five years ago, a commercially instinctive Sydney Sweeney would have done a feminist stunt or a tweet about mental health. Plenty of stars did, and made plenty from them. But nothing's static and vibes change, so stars are doing different starry things now. Or to put it another way: they're all in the infinity pool, but some of them are headed for the swim-up bar. That's showbiz – try not to choke on it. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Texas governor vows to arrest Democrats who fled to block redistricting vote
Good morning. The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, has threatened to arrest Democratic lawmakers after they left the state to prevent Republicans from pushing through plans to aggressively change Texas's congressional map, a move that is likely to see them gain seats in the next election. At least 51 of the 62 Democrats in the Texas house left Austin yesterday, travelling to states including Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, in an effort to deny Republicans the quorum needed to hold votes. When the legislature convened at 3pm local time, Republicans were eight members short of the number required to conduct business. In response, Abbott said he had instructed the Texas department of public safety to 'locate, arrest and return to the house chamber any member who has abandoned their duty to Texans'. Why did the Democrats leave? By breaking quorum, the Democrats have temporarily blocked the controversial plan sought by Donald Trump to redraw the state's congressional maps, a move that would probably give Republicans five more seats in Congress. More than 40 people protesting the war and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza were arrested outside the Trump International hotel in New York City yesterday evening. The protest, organized by IfNotNow, a Jewish-American anti-occupation group, had begun earlier in the evening at Columbus Circle. Hundreds gathered under the banner 'Trump: Jews Say No More' to demand an end to the war in Gaza and that the Trump administration pressure Israel to allow greater humanitarian aid to enter into the territory, as health officials there continue to report deaths from starvation and malnutrition. In a press release issued after the arrests occurred, IfNotNow said the mobilization marked 'the broadest tent coalition in the Jewish community against the atrocities in Gaza in the last two years, representing the vast majority of US Jews who are outraged by the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza'. Why were the protesters arrested? Just after 8pm, the group began walking to the Trump International hotel. They gathered in front of the hotel, sitting in the street, singing and chanting. At about 8.15pm ET, New York police department officers began arresting protesters for blocking the street. A huge wildfire in central California has threatened hundreds of homes, with blazes churning through the brush-covered hillsides in Los Padres national forest. At least three people were reported injured, and more than 450 structures were under threat by the Gifford fire, officials said on Monday. The fire had scorched more than 72,000 acres (29,000 hectares) as of Monday evening, after the blaze grew out of several smaller fires that erupted Friday along State Route 166 between Santa Maria and Bakersfield. What else is happening? Billowing smoke from hundreds of out-of-control wildfires – most of which are in the Canadian prairies – have caused severe air quality alerts across Canada and the United States. Detroit and Michigan recorded some of the worst air quality in the world on Monday, according to a ranking by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company. Jim Acosta, former chief White House correspondent for CNN, sat for a conversation with an 'AI avatar' of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 people killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Donald Trump has attacked Jaguar Land Rover as 'woke' for its divisive rebranding strategy hours after Britain's largest carmaker announced its new boss. 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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Clip of glam Sydney Sweeney expertly shooting targets goes viral as her ‘secret MAGA life' emerges after anti-woke ad
A CLIP of Sydney Sweeney blasting targets at a shooting range has gone viral - as she's adopted by the MAGA movement and praised by Trump. The video resurfaced after President Trump heaped praise on the actress's "anti-woke" American Eagle jeans advert and she was revealed to be a registered Republican. 9 A clip of Sydney Sweeney practicing at a firing range has resurfaced in light of the revelation of her Republican leanings Credit: instagram/@sydney_sweeney/ 9 Sydney had never revealed how she voted, though people are now seeing clues from over the years Credit: Instagram 9 Sydney Sweeney is the star of American Eagle's latest, controversial ad campaign Credit: American Eagle The clip from 2019 shows a younger Sydney expertly burying rounds into a series of human-shaped dummies at the firing range. She appears well-practiced, skilfully banging two bullets into each in quick succession without so much as a flinch. At the end, she flashes a smile to the camera and holsters the weapon. Since Sydney starred in the controversial American Eagle jeans ad, clues that point to her living a secret MAGA life have emerged. The 27-year-old grew up in a small, Catholic, Trump-supporting town in Washington with her father, mother and younger brother Trent - and has previously said she had a "religious" upbringing. After accepting her breakout Euphoria role, Sydney revealed she had been nervous about how her community would react. She told Stylecaster in 2021: "What's crazy - and this is going to sound really bad- is when I first got sent the audition, I was too nervous to go do it. "I grew up in a smaller town with my family, who are a little more conservative, and I was like: 'They're going to kill me if I do something like this.'" A surprise party she threw for her mom's 60th birthday drew considerable attention when pics were shared of the guests wearing MAGA-style hats and "Blue Lives Matter" shirts. And now, she has starred in the American Eagle ad which has seriously riled voices on the left, who claim it promotes a racial ideal, but delighted the right who hail it as the "end of woke advertising". Trump pours praise on Sydney Sweedy amid 'good jeans' American Eagle ad storm as her voter registration revealed The ad makes a play on the words "jeans" and "genes" - and the main tagline is "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans". It's been claimed that the promotion of Sydney's blonde hair and blue eye traits suggests they are superior to alternative genes. Sydney hasn't publicly commented on the furore stirred up by the ad, but made her first appearance at a screening of her upcoming film "Americana" on Monday. She was heckled by a fan who shouted: "Stop the ad, that is being racist," according to TMZ. 9 Sydney flashes a smile after smashing it at the firing range Credit: instagram/@sydney_sweeney/ 9 Sydney sweeney caused controversy by posting Maga-themed pics from from her mom's 60th Credit: Instagram 9 Sydney Sweeney is most famous for her roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus Credit: Instagram However, she got into her vehicle without responding. American Eagle defended its advertisement, but removed the video from its social media accounts. It then emerged over the weekend that the actress has been a registered Republican since June 2024 - and she soon received praise right from the top. President Trump was delighted when a reporter told him about Sydney's political leanings, and promptly declared that he "loves" her "fantastic" ad. He said on Sunday night: "That's one I wouldn't have known but I'm glad you told me that. 9 Trump's Truth Social post on Monday, where he doubled down on his support for Sydney Sweeney Credit: X 9 Sydney Sweeney was revealed to be a registered Republican since June 2024 Credit: Getty 9 The ad's tagline 'Sydney Sweeney had great jeans' ignited major controversy Credit: American Eagle 'If Sydney Sweeny is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.' Trump then doubled down on his enthusiastic support and cemented the American Eagle ad as a bastion of the "anti-woke" agenda. He declared in a Monday morning Truth Social post that the campaign is "the HOTTEST" and went on to slam "woke" companies like "stupid" Jaguar and Bud Light for their own advertising. Jaguar recently put out an ad with models dressed in brightly-coloured, flamboyant clothing - but no cars or the brand's logo. Trump insisted the British manufacturer, whose CEO resigned on last week, should have learned from Bug Light - which suffered a boycott and major losses after an advert featuring a transgender influencer. The President's conclusion: "Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be."
