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American Eagle is not here to apologize.
On August 1, the company issued a statement in response to the hottest story on the Internet:
Sydney Sweeney posing in its jeans and possibly making a reference to a set of Nazi beliefs in the process.
On Friday, the brand wrote in a graphic:
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.
For those very late to this viral party, Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign originally sparked a social media firestorm days after it launched… due to what some perceived as its not-so-hidden messaging.
The campaign features the gorgeous actress in fall-centric denim, pulled together by her stylist Molly Dickson.
One look depicts the sultry star in a modern Canadian tuxedo with bold blue jeans and a matching jacket… while another includes super-baggy light-wash jeans with a white tee and then a similar pair but distressed, worn with a white tank.
Sweeney looks undeniable gorgeous.
But it’s not her look in these advertisement that has gotten people buzzing. And criticizing.
In one of the campaign videos, Sweeney is seen zipping up her jeans while lying down.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” she says as the camera pans to her face. “My jeans are blue.”
Then, a narrator in voiceover intones: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
You have to look VERY closely to find it, but a bunch of critics have claimed that using the word “jeans” as a play on “genes” hints at eugenics.
And, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH), eugenics “is broadly defined as the use of selective breeding to improve the human race.”
Eugenics was a racially biased study that was adopted with the Nazi party and is associated with white supremacy.
In another campaign video, Sweeney recreates Brooke Shields’ controversial 1980s Calvin Klein ad while pulling her pants up her legs.
In the footage, she relayed a message about how “the secret of life lies in the genetic code,” a nod to Shields’ line, “Genes are fundamental in determining the characteristics of an individual and passing on these characteristics to succeeding generations.”
Many social media were unafraid shared their thoughts on the statement, writing for example:
“Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle promoting eugenics and pushing the aryan race Nazi propaganda was not in my 2025 bingo card.”
Another remarked: “American Eagle needs to delete those Sydney Sweeney ads. They are genuinely scary.”
Despite the controversy (or perhaps because of it?), American Eagle’s stock increased 10 percent in just a few days, adding more than $200 million to the group’s value.
Sweeney has not yet commented on the supposed scandal, but previously told People Magazine that American Eagle represents “the comfiest jeans I’ve ever worn.”
