Sydney Sweeney addressed the recent backlash surrounding her partnership with American Eagle,characterizing reactions too the campaign as disproportionate and revealing a detached outlook on public support from prominent figures like Donald Trump. The controversy stemmed from images released โin August featuring the actress modeling jeans, prompting criticism centered on perceived sexualization and targeting of young audiences.
The ensuing debate ignited a broader conversation about marketing to adolescents and the responsibility of celebrities in advertising. While sweeney acknowledged the uproar, her โcomments in โคa GQ interview suggest a disconnect between the intensity ofโค the criticism and her own โunderstanding of the situation, notably downplaying the โคconcept of “real responsibility” for the campaign’s messaging. The incident underscores the challenges faced by brands and celebrities navigating increasingly sensitiveโ cultural landscapes, and the potential โfor rapid public โscrutiny in theโ age of social media.
Sweeney โdescribed the response from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance โas “surreal.” Trump, 79, publicly praised Sweeney and the advertisement inโข August after learning she is reportedly a registered Republican, stating, โข”Is โshe a registered Republican? Oh, now I love her adโฆ If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.” Vance similarly criticized Democrats for objecting to a “pretty girl” selling jeans to children in the United States.
When asked if she felt “grateful” โคfor the public support from such influentialโ figures, โSweeney responded, “Hmm, โฃI don’t thinkโฆ not that I didn’t have thatโ feeling, but I wasn’t thinking about itโ that way, at all likeโ that.” This response โindicates a level of detachment from the political dimension of the controversy and a focus on the campaign itself rather than the โexternal reactions it provoked.
