The controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s latest ad campaign for American Eagle has caught major public attention and now even former U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in.
During a recent appearance on Newsmax, Trump was asked by anchor Rob Finnerty about Sweeney’s American Eagle ad, which has sparked an intense debate online about race and Western beauty standards. The question quickly veered into controversial territory when Finnerty connected the denim ad to broader cultural issues.
“Your administration has been very open about the fact that American women are not having enough babies,” Finnerty began, before adding, “There was an ad this week. Sydney Sweeney, an actress, was in an ad for Blue Jeans. The ad is doing very well. It’s very popular. The jeans are sold out. Does America need to see more ads like that? And maybe fewer ads with people like Dylan Mulvaney on the cover?”
Trump jumped into the conversation, using the opportunity to criticize Bud Light’s past campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. “The Dylan Mulvaney ad was perhaps the most unsuccessful ad in history. It knocked 35 million dollars off the value of a certain company. You know what I’m talking about. That was one of the great disasters of all time. I would say it was probably the most unsuccessful ad, worst ad ever,” he said.
He added, “You know, advertising is a very funny thing. I’ve done ads where I thought they were lousy and they turned out to be iconic, and then I’ve done some that I thought were beauties that were gonna be fantastic, and they weren’t so good, so to each his own. But the Dylan Mulvaney ad was a total disaster.” The Newsmax segment aired with an on-screen banner that read: “Trump ends the era of woke.”
The Sydney Sweeney-American Eagle Controversy
The ad in question features the 27-year-old White Lotus and Euphoria star in a denim campaign titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” While the brand intended the tagline to highlight its clothing, critics quickly began interpreting it as a loaded message referencing eugenics and white supremacist ideals due to Sweeney’s blonde hair and blue eyes.
American Eagle issued a statement clarifying the intent behind the campaign: “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans,” the company told The Post. “Her jeans. Her story.” They added, “We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
Sweeney also promoted the campaign on her Instagram, writing, “I have great jeans… now you can too,” alongside the campaign video posted on July 23. However, the internet response was swift and polarized.
Critics Call Ad “Nazi Propaganda”
Several critics on social media compared the campaign’s aesthetic and slogan to “Nazi propaganda.” One TikTok user wrote, “I thought it was gonna be, like, kinda bad, but wow. That’s gonna be in history books!” Another commented, “I will be the friend that’s too woke, but those Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ads are weird. Like, fascist weird. Like Nazi propaganda weird.”
Artists Lizzo and Doja Cat also joined in the online mockery. Lizzo posted a digitally altered image of herself wearing the same denim look Sweeney sported in the ad, captioned, “My jeans are black…” Doja Cat, on the other hand, created a TikTok video mimicking Sweeney’s monologue from the campaign in an exaggerated accent.
American Eagle Stands Firm Amid Backlash
Despite the criticism, American Eagle appears to be standing by the campaign, even as it distances itself from the “Nazi propaganda” accusations. The brand recently promoted other ads from the same series that did not feature Sweeney.
On July 27, the brand posted a new ad with the caption, “Denim on denim on denim… on denim,” followed by “AE has great jeans.”
Interestingly, the campaign’s backlash hasn’t hurt business, American Eagle’s stock rose more than 10% immediately after the campaign launched on July 23.
