Originally appeared on E! Online.
Sydney Sweeney’s family isn’t feeling blue.
In fact, her brother Trent Sweeney took the ball tossed by the recent American Eagle ad and ran with it, leaning into the “my jeans” concept that sparked backlash.
Trent, who serves in the U.S. Air Force, celebrated his recent promotion to staff sergeant in the 48th Munitions Squadron by sharing a snap of his certificate on Instagram Story August 6 with the caption, “It’s them good jeans.”
And to drive home the lightheartedness of the quip, he added the glasses and mustache emoji.
But while Trent is making light of the controversy, the ad campaign — in which Sydney’s tag line refers to her “great jeans” — sparked swift backlash on social media, with some users suggesting American Eagle was promoting eugenics with the word play of “jeans” and “genes.”
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” the “Euphoria” actress said in one campaign video. “My jeans are blue.”
READ: American Eagle Breaks Silence on Controversial Sydney Sweeney Jeans Ad
Sydney, however, avoided much of the crossfire — only sharing one post from the campaign to her Instagram grid — with many users turning their ire towards American Eagle itself. In addition to the negativity around the play on genes and jeans, there was also criticism over the male-centric feel to some of the promotional materials: In one video, a camera pans down Sydney’s body before she says, “Eyes up here.”
As one user commented on the brand’s July 23 post, “This was not the move AE, we needed and wanted something DIFFERENT as women.”
While some supported the campaign — the White House’s Director of Communications Steven Cheung slammed the backlash as “cancel culture run amok” in a July 29 X post — American Eagle ultimately released a statement addressing the situation.
Sydney Sweeney is speaking out. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the actress was asked why she thinks there’s a tendency to knock women performers down when they’re at their professional peak, which other celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway have reportedly previously discussed, noting that the “Anyone But You” star and her team fought back when veteran Hollywood producer Carol Baum said the actress is “not pretty” and “can’t act.”
“’Sydney Sweeney has great jeans’ is and always was about the jeans,” the company wrote in an Instagram statement Aug. 1. “Her jeans. Her story.”
The brand added, “We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
This is not the first time Sydney, however, has found herself in hot water — literally — over a brand partnership. When the “Anyone But You” star worked with Dr. Squash soap in June to create a limited line of bar soap made with some of her literal bathwater, fans similarly questioned the move.
The 27-year-old, however, didn’t mind the noise. “I pitched it,” she told E! News of the idea at the time. But instead of weighing in on the discourse that bubbled up, she added, “I think it’s more fun to see everyone else talk about it.”
American Eagle is responding to the social media uproar surrounding their recent denim campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney.
