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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sydney Sweeney ‘Great Genes' Ad Slammed as ‘Nazi Propaganda'
Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney is under fire for starring in an American Eagle ad about 'great genes' that social media users are calling 'Nazi propaganda.' The ad's tagline, 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans'—a play on the phrase 'great genes'—sparked outrage online, as the blonde haired, blue-eyed actress tells viewers in one commercial that 'genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.' Wrote one X user of the ad, 'The most Nazi part of the Sydney Sweeney ad for me was the use of the word offspring.' Sweeney was announced as the face of the jeans campaign last week. And while the ads have done little to dissuade some from the assumption that she harbors alt-right beliefs, they've been uber profitable for American Eagle. The brand, which had previously slipped from the pop culture relevancy of its heyday, saw its stock jump by double digits after Sweeney's campaign debuted. Her star power catapulted the casual clothing company into the national conversation for the first time in decades—and the new profits reversed much of its year‑to‑date losses. But not all of the new attention is good, as backlash to the 'great genes' campaign continues to grow. One X user joked, 'I like Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle as much as the next guy but 'We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children' is a crazy tagline for selling jeans.' The Daily Beast has reached out to both Sweeney's representatives and American Eagle for comment. The general message carries over into several of the campaign's ads, users have pointed out. In a different cut, Sweeney tells the camera, 'My body's composition is determined by my (genes) jeans.' In yet another, Sweeney appears before a billboard for the campaign, as the word 'genes' in the campaign's 'great genes' tagline is crossed out to become the word 'jeans' instead. The insistence on centering the word play has only deepened suspicion for some that the ads are somehow promoting eugenics—the manipulation of reproduction in a human population to increase heritable characteristics that are more desirable. One TikTok user called the ads' message a 'racialized dog whistle' and 'Nazi propaganda.' Another said the ads 'echo pseudoscientific language of racial superiority. All throughout history, those traits have been weaponized to uphold a racial hierarchy.' An X user suggested Sweeney herself is aware of what the ads symbolize, writing, 'The American Eagles ad wasn't just a commercial. It was a love letter to white nationalism and eugenic fantasies, and Sydney Sweeney knew it.' Elsewhere on social media, MAGA-supporting users celebrated the ads as the end of 'woke advertising.' Others insisted there's no 'there,' there. 'If you think a jeans ad with a pun about Sydney Sweeney being pretty is a Nazi dog whistle, you genuinely need to put the phone down for a while,' one wrote. It's not the first time the star has been accused of leaning right. In 2022, photos captured at a party she threw to celebrate her mother's 60th birthday showed attendees wearing 'Blue Lives Matter' t-shirts and MAGA-style red hats. Sweeney's brother clarified at the time that the hats read 'Make Sixty Great Again'—not 'Make America Great Again.' Sweeney herself addressed the backlash to the posts on X, declaring that her 'innocent celebration' of her mom's birthday had been 'turned into an absurd political statement, which was not the intention' and imploring the public to 'stop making assumptions' about her personal politics. But the sting was still there for some users, who've since written the star off as secretly alt-right. The 'great genes' campaign is just the latest in a series of major career moves for Sweeney, including rumored talks to star as the next Bond girl in Amazon MGM's new iteration of the franchise, and launching a lingerie line funded in part by Amazon founder—and MAGA-friendly media mogul—Jeff Bezos. Solve the daily Crossword
Indian Express
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘Reaction to Sydney Sweeney's ad is cancel culture run amok, reason why Donald Trump won,' says White House representative
Brands and advertising firms go crazy every time they have to find an actor for their new campaign, because finding the right face can be the difference between a successful product and one that will sit on the shelves. American Eagle tried to do something similar with Euphoria actor Sydney Sweeney when they released a new campaign titled Great Genes. What was supposed to be a play on the word jeans, opened a Pandora's box filled with trouble and criticism, with many claiming that the ad is promoting white supremacy. All hell broke loose after several ads featuring Sydney wearing the brand's jeans dropped on the internet. The campaign aimed to highlight that Sydney has both great genes and jeans, with 'genes' referring to her beauty, according to the brand. The idea didn't really translate, as some people pointed out that hiring a white woman with blond hair and blue eyes to talk about her 'great genes' is a bit eugenic in nature and cannot stand. However, many supported the campaign, and the latest to join that list is White House representative Steven Cheung, who in a post on X (formerly Twitter) called the entire backlash 'moronic.' ALSO READ: Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas seemingly confirm relationship as they walk hand-in-hand during Vermont getaway. See photos He wrote, 'Cancel culture run amok. This warped, moronic, and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024. They're tired of this bull****.' The voting comment is a reference to Donald Trump's triumph over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential elections. Another voice that supported Sydney and slammed liberals was American journalist and attorney Megyn Kelly, who didn't mince any words while describing people who are against the campaign and said, 'She's advertising jeans, and yet the lunatics on the Left think she's advertising white supremacy. This is obviously a reference to her body and not to her skin colour, but the lunatic left is going to do what the lunatic left is going to do.' Cancel culture run amok. This warped, moronic, and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024. They're tired of this bullshit. — Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) July 29, 2025 She added that the only reason people were upset is because a white woman is the face of a campaign titled 'great genes,' and that people shudder at the thought of celebrating a white woman for her body or appearance. The ad has certainly given birth to a lot of opinions, with some calling it an idea in poor taste, something that the brand itself thinks is just 'noise.' An insider told TMZ, 'This is yet another example of how social media doesn't reflect real life. The absurd response from some corners of the internet is absolutely not how American Eagle's customers feel.' American Eagle earlier shared plans of releasing a limited edition jeans named after the actor, whose sale proceeds will go to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit organization offering mental health support. Whether people like it or not, many argue that this controversy will probably end up working for the brand, as people are constantly talking about it on social media, which gives the campaign and the product more traction.
