American Eagle is under fire after launching a campaign featuring actor Sydney Sweeney with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”—a pun many found troubling. The phrase plays on the homonym “jeans” and “genes”, and critics argue it unintentionally evokes themes of eugenics and white supremacist aesthetics, especially when paired with Sweeney’s blonde hair and blue eyes.
The backlash intensified after Doja Cat posted a TikTok parody mimicking Sweeney’s ad in a Southern accent, including the line “my jeans are blue.” Her mockery, which has racked up over 20 million views, sparked renewed debate over the campaign’s tone and messaging.
In the ad, Sweeney says, “Genes determine traits like hair and eye colour… my jeans are blue.” While American Eagle insists the ad was about celebrating denim and self-expression, many viewers felt it crossed a line.
In a formal statement, the brand clarified: “‘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.”
To ease the tension, the company later posted a follow-up ad featuring a woman of colour in AE jeans.