American Eagle Outfitters on Friday night responded to the controversy swirling around the apparel company’s fall jean campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney.
The viral ads, as covered by The Daily Wire, play on the concept of good genetics and blue jeans — using the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has good jeans.” The tag line has sparked criticism from the Left, since Sweeney is white and has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Refusing to back down, the company said in an Instagram post, “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story.”
“We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,” AE continued. “Great jeans look good on everyone.”
The statement was celebrated online, with some people thanking AE for not “making up a bulls*** apology for the libs,” and others declaring that the “woke mind virus is slowly dying.”
Instagram: American Eagle
In one of the ads generating controversy, Sweeney says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle, oh my god. pic.twitter.com/tDkeGT9R7G
— Sydney Sweeney Daily (@sweeneydailyx) July 24, 2025
Leftists online claimed the ads were Nazi-coded and racist for the play on the word jeans, specifically since Sweeney is white. There was even media commentary published echoing the same extreme sentiment. For example, an MSNBC op-ed said the AE ads were evidence of the “unbridled cultural shift toward whiteness,” which the author suggested was “ugly and startling.”
In addition to AE’s response on Friday night, an AE executive recently defending the campaign and specifically detailed how Sweeney herself was completely on board to push the envelope.
AE executive Ashley Schapiro, in a LinkedIn post, recalled a meeting with Sweeney before they started filming, Parade reported.
“During a Zoom call with Sydney we asked the question ‘How far do you want to push it?’ Without hesitation, she smirked 😏 and said, ‘Let’s push it, I’m game.’ Our response? ‘Challenge Accepted,’” Schapiro wrote.
Related: Leftists Crash Out Over ‘Whiteness’ Of Sexy Sydney Sweeney Jean Ads
