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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nAmerican Eagle has finally responded to the backlash regarding its latest campaign with Sydney Sweeney. <\/p>\n
Last week, the retailer revealed an advert with the actor, which features her posing in a denim jacket and jeans, alongside the tagline: \u201cSydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.\u201d <\/p>\n
While the tagline appeared to be a pun about denim \u2014 by changing the word \u201cgenes\u201d to \u201cjeans\u201d \u2014 it sparked immense criticism online on Monday, since the phrases \u201cgood genes\u201d and \u201cgreat genes\u201d have historically been used in the language of eugenicists, who believe the human race can be improved genetically by selective breeding. <\/p>\n
Now, American Eagle has spoken out about the campaign and defended the Euphoria<\/em> star. <\/p>\n\u201c\u2018Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans\u2019 is and always was about the jeans,\u201d the retailer wrote in a statement on its Instagram Friday. \u201cHer jeans. Her story.\u201d <\/p>\n
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American Eagle says Sydney Sweeney ad \u2018always was about the jeans\u2019 amid backlash (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cGreat jeans look good on everyone.\u201d <\/p>\n
Along with criticizing the tag line, many people noted the apparent subtext of the campaign and hit back at it for a lack of diversity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvertising has always been and will always be about subtext and interpretation. If you’re going to run a campaign that has a \u2018double meaning,\u2019 you better be clear on what those double meanings are. Making a blonde white lady the sole face of your campaign and saying she has \u2018good genes\u2019 against the backdrop of literally everything happening in the world is a choice,\u201d one person wrote on LinkedIn.<\/p>\n
\u201cSydney Sweeney is a great example of white supremacy being the only way a lot of people derive self-esteem,\u201d another wrote on X. \u201cShe starred in two shows where she played the less hot friend to a dark-haired and brown skinned woman and tried to steal their man for validation in both shows.\u201d<\/p>\n