Sydney Sweeney’s new campaign draws fire for racial undertones
American Eagle s new fall campaign starring Sydney Sweeney is under fire not for the jeans but for the tagline Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans The phrase used in bold on billboards in Times Square and Las Vegas was designed as a denim pun But online a multitude of saw something else great genes a phrase historically used to celebrate whiteness thinness and attractiveness This makes this campaign seem to be a tone-deaf marketing move And it s not like they were being subtle about it One campaign advertisement literally has Sweeney painting over the words great genes to become great jeans Maybe I m too woke one viral post read but getting a blue-eyed blonde white woman and focusing your campaign around her having perfect genetics feels weird Others described the slogan as too close to master race propaganda and mentioned it echoed eugenics-era language used to validate and promote the superiority of white beauty Eugenics movements in the U S often promoted the idea of good genes to encourage reproduction among white able-bodied people while justifying the forced sterilization of others Critics say those ideas still show up in modern advertising and influencer practices often unexamined American Eagle has not addressed the backlash directly The campaign features Sweeney modeling a limited-edition Sydney Jean denim collection that benefits Emergency Text Line a helpline for casualties of domestic violence along with AR filters AI try-ons and massive D billboards in Times Square and Las Vegas Despite the dispute the campaign caused American Eagle stock to spike by as much as Analysts pointed to meme stock behavior a viral surge driven by retail traders on Reddit and Stocktwits not by fundamentals Like GameStop or AMC before it AEO became a momentary favorite based on online buzz and speculation One commenter summed up the tension It s not just about the jeans It s about who gets to be the face of America s best genes Read more about genes Sydney Sweeney s body-shaming is another symptom of men wanting to control women s bodies Bible of scientific racism The origins of Donald Trump s obsession with genes Bad genes In latest racist attack Trump says immigrants are genetically inferior The post Sydney Sweeney s new campaign draws fire for racial undertones appeared first on Salon com
