Sydney Sweeney found herself in the middle of controversy after appearing in an American Eagle jeans campaign.
The campaign used the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” which played into the pun of “genes,” which many believed promoted eugenics and subliminally had white supremacy undertones.
In a new interview, Sweeney said she was not compelled to release a statement of her own amid the backlash.
“I mean, I’ll vent to my girlfriends. But other than that, no. I know who I am. I know what I value. I know that I’m a kind person. I know that I love a lot, and I know that I’m just excited to see what happens next. And so I don’t really let other people define who I am,” she said in an interview with GQ.
Talking directly about the campaign, Sweeney said, “I did a jean ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life.”
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Amid the backlash, Donald Trump weighed in on the controversy, expressing support for her and the ad.
The Euphoria star said it was “surreal” to know Trump had an opinion about the ad.
Following the backlash, reports emerged about American Eagle’s stock price and sales at the store, but Sweeney said that she was not personally affected by any of it.
“I was aware of the numbers as it was going. So when I saw all the headlines of in-store visits were down a certain percentage, none of it was true,” she said. “It was all made up, but nobody could say anything because [the company was] in their quiet period. So it was all just a lot of talk. And because I knew at the end of the day what that ad was for, and it was great jeans, it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”
American Eagle released a statement amid all the controversy, saying, “‘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. Great jeans look good on everyone.”