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Sydney Sweeney in denim jacket and jeans, lying on floor in American Eagle ad campaign.Photo by American Eagle /Instagram
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Sydney Sweeney’s new denim-focused fall campaign for American Eagle has sparked backlash for the brand — and the actress — for alleged racial undertones.
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As part of the campaign, the retailer is launching “The Sydney Jean,” a limited-run, wide-legged jean that was produced in collaboration with the Euphoria star, according to a press release.
Sweeney, 27, is featured in an array of photos and videos, including one where she cleans off a large poster of herself, boasting a tagline that appears to be a pun about denim.
The phrase initially said: “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes,” before the last word is crossed out and replaced with “Jeans.”
That “corrected” tagline, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” appears in nearly every ad for the campaign.
But for some, the ad isn’t just a showcase of a gorgeous woman with spectacular assets in different styles of denim bottoms and tops.
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The woke brigade have taken issue with the apparent subtext of the campaign and blasted it for what they claim is a lack of diversity, with many now calling out American Eagle and Sweeney for “white supremacy” and “Nazi propaganda” over the phrase “great genes (jeans?).”
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour,” Sweeney said in one ad, before the camera pans up to her blue eyes.
The collection, which features “The Sydney Jean” and a limited-edition denim jacket, both display a butterfly motif representing domestic violence awareness.
All revenue from its sales will be donated to the Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit offering free 24/7 mental health support, according to the campaign.
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“Sweeney’s girl next door charm and main character energy — paired with her ability to not take herself too seriously — is the hallmark of this bold, playful campaign,” American Eagle wrote on its website last week.
When American Eagle announced the collaboration with Sweeney, the company’s stock went up, NBC News reported.
But the backlash appears to have forced a shift, with American Eagle’s most recent post showing a different, and apparently more ethnically acceptable model — with the same tagline.
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