Sydney Sweeney-fronted campaign supporting domestic violence victims branded 'tasteless' and 'tone deaf' for zooming in on her chest
The actress, 27, launched her new collaboration with American Eagle this week, titled 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans', and modelled her own designs in a racy photo shoot.
Proceeds from the clothing line are going to charity - but the Euphoria actress divided opinion with a suggestive joke made about her chest in a clip promoting the initiative.
In it, the A-lister told the camera how 'her body's composition is determined by her genes' before the shot panned down and zoomed in on her cleavage.
'Hey! Eyes up here', she exclaimed, drawing the camera up to her face and laughing.
The saucy quip has faced criticism for 'oversexualizing' Sydney in a poignant and serious cause.
She is donating 100per cent of the purchase price of 'The Sydney Jean' - which are selling for nearly £70 ($89.95) - to Crisis Text Line, a domestic abuse charity offering confidential mental health support to victims.
It has a butterfly motif on the back that 'represents domestic violence awareness, which Sydney is passionate about'.
Shoppers were furious and 'disgusted' that the ad, many feeling it was in poor taste.
'Is this really the advertisement they came up with for raising money for a domestic violence org,' one questioned on X.
Another added: 'As someone that's utilized & also volunteered for this organization this is SO disgustingly tone deaf.'
'Launching a pair of jeans with the hope of combatting domestic violence and then immediately making the campaign vid all about a woman's t**s is the most r******d, gross marketing decision you people are rearing whole legions of brain maggots oh my god,' a third hit out.
Elsewhere a commenter penned: 'Usually I don't care for Sydney's "look at my boobs" gist but this is in such bad taste because apparently this campaign is to raise money for domestic violence victims…'
Another skeptical user added: 'The profits for these jeans go to a domestic violence charity and they're being marketed like this.'
One simply quipped: 'Advertisement for women's jeans symbolizing a fight against domestic violence btw'
However, since news of the collaboration broke, American Eagle's ailing stock up rose more than 10 per cent on Thursday, even though the stock is still down nearly 40per cent over the past year.
Some analysts say the spike puts American Eagle in line to join other 'meme stocks' - companies whose prices are driven more by online hype than fundamentals.
The trend took off during the pandemic as bored workers stuck at home plotted on social media to push up prices of struggling stocks like GameStop and AMC in a bid to spite hedge funds that had better the would fall more.
Eventually, those stocks collapsed as their businesses couldn't support the social media-fueled hype.
'Once a stock falls under the 'meme' category, the price movements can be violent and volatile, so it's certainly not for everyone,' Bret Kenwell, a US investment analyst at eToro, previously told DailyMail.com.
'Chasing can result in being burned.'
However, American Eagle will be hoping that retaining the Anyone But You bombshell is enough to revive its bottom line.
'With Sydney Sweeney front and center, she brings the allure,' president Jennifer Foyle said.
'We add the flawless wardrobe for the winning combo of ease, attitude and a little mischief.'
People responded with fury to the ad which they felt overly-sexualised Sweeney when one of the jeans is set to donate money towards Crisis Text Line
But an accompanying sultry clip has been criticised for overly-sexualising Sweeney when she is donating the purchase price of a pair of jeans towards a domestic violence charity
The collaboration sent American Eagle's stock up more than five percent on Thursday morning
AE is changing how it runs marketing campaigns by focusing on only one celebrity. In the past, it has featured multiple public figures in ads.
American Eagle's CMO, Craig Brommers, told Modern Retail that Sweeney is 'the biggest get in the history of our brand.'
'We've had a lot of success working with multiple talent in one season, so it's not like that recipe is dead,' Brommers said.
'But there are only a few celebrities that have the cachet to be the face of a dual-gender brand, and Sweeney is one of them.
'When she was into the idea of working with us, that's when you say, I think this is a special, unique moment, and it needs to feel like that.'
Sydney is also preparing to launch her own lingerie brand - with some very powerful backers.
The venture has backing from Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his new wife, Lauren Sanchez, who have invested in new brand. A source told Us Weekly that it is launching 'very soon.'
'This has been a huge project for her and something she's been working on for the last year,' the insider added.
The actress has enjoyed a meteoric rise in recent years, starring in TV shows such as Euphoria and The Handmaid's Tale, while she's also worked with a host of big-name brands, including Laneige and Frankie's Bikinis.
The actress - who ended her engagement to Jonathan Davino earlier this year - has also been tipped to play a Bond girl in the next 007 movie, with director Denis Villeneuve reportedly keen to hire Sweeney for his upcoming film.
American Eagle and Crisis Text Line were contacted for comment.
Women's Aid declined to comment as well as Refuge but they added: 'Refuge's National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available on 0808 2000 247 for free, confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
'A live chat service is also available from 10am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 6pm on weekends.
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