Overview
- In July 2025 American Eagle released a commercial starring Sydney Sweeney that used a play on the homophones “jeans” and “genes,” and critics said the spot appeared to valorize conventional white beauty.
- The ad drew sustained attention across media and politics, with President Donald Trump publicly defending Sweeney and calling it the “HOTTEST ad out there.”
- Sweeney later described the backlash as surprising and said her prior silence had widened divides, comments she made in interviews in late 2025 as she promoted two films.
- Amanda Seyfried told British GQ in a profile published June 15 that she largely stayed out of the public debate but offered private support to Sweeney during their 2025 press tour and tried to be a “safe space.”
- American Eagle has defended the campaign as being about denim, said it boosted jeans sales, and ran a new Sweeney spot in April 2026, leaving the larger conversation about representation and marketing unresolved.