Sydney Sweeney's jeans advert criticised for ‘sexualising' domestic abuse awareness

Telegraph

6 days ago

Sydney Sweeney has been criticised over a 'sexualised' jeans advert raising awareness about domestic violence.
The White Lotus star has faced a backlash for her American Eagle Jeans advert, which pays tribute to her 'great genes' while the camera zooms in on her breasts and bottom.
Critics have also suggested it inappropriately pays homage to a controversial advertising campaign by 15-year-old Brooke Shields from the 1980s.
However, others have praised it for taking on 'woke advertising'.
Earlier this year, Jaguar-Land Rover was criticised following a controversial brand relaunch that drew criticism for being too 'woke'.
The marque ditched its iconic big cat logo and opted for a pink hue, in a move that some customers said made them feel alienated.
And in 2023, Bud Light was boycotted en masse after employing transgender model Dylan Mulvaney to advertise its beer. The outrage wiped around $20bn (£15.75bn) off the value of parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev.
According to American Eagle, the purchase price of the jeans will be donated to Crisis Text Line, a charity offering confidential mental health services. The trousers also feature a 'butterfly motif on the back pocket of [which] represents domestic violence awareness,' American Eagle's press release stated, according to the Independent.
The Sweeney advert begins with the 27-year-old telling viewers: 'I'm not here to tell you to buy American Eagle jeans,' as she leans forward in her chair while the camera lingers on her chest.
'And I definitely won't say they're the most comfortable jeans I've ever worn, or that they make your butt look amazing,' she continues, with the camera zooming in on her bottom as she walks over to a mirror.
'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,' reads the tagline that flashes up on the screen, before the actress adds: 'See what I did there, right?'
Sweeney courted controversy when in May she announced she would sell soap made out of her bathwater because her fans 'wouldn't stop asking for it'.
Some suggested her advert paid homage to Brooke Shields' controversial Calvin Klein adverts from the 1980s, which also plays on the genes/jeans pun.
It begins with the child star pulling off her glasses and telling viewers: 'The secret of life lies hidden in the genetic code.'
The actress, whose mother allowed her to pose nude for Playboy aged 10, then pulls on a pair of jeans while lying on the floor, talking about 'selective mating, in which a single gene type proves superior in transmitting its genes to future generations'.
In another of the adverts, she says: 'You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.'
Similarly, in another clip for the same campaign, Ms Sweeney says: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour.'
The camera then pans to her eyes, and she says: 'My jeans are blue.'
Online critics of the Sweeney advert have even suggested the campaign by the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress talking about her genes was 'Nazi propaganda'.
Robby Soave, a commentator with The Hill, called the claim 'stupid' as he defended the Euphoria star on social media.
' Sydney Sweeney is doing fascist propaganda, and if you like her, you're a fascist too... is quite possibly the stupidest, most-likely-to-backfire liberal overreach social media pile-on in the history of the internet,' he said.
Sabrina Carpenter, the singer, last month changed the cover art for her 'Man's Best Friend' album to a 'God approved' version after critics said the original was overly sexualised.