Sydney Sweeney has been embroiled in controversy since the arrival of her American Eagle jeans commercial.
The issue has become the ad’s play on “jeans” and “genes,” with many pointing out the campaign’s racial undertones. It also doesn’t help that the Euphoria actress is white and coveted for her physical attributes, like her blonde hair and blue eyes.
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color,” Sweeney says in the commercial, as the camera pans up her body, and she zips and buttons her jeans.
She then looks into the camera as she says, “My jeans are blue.”
When Doja Cat caught wind of the ad, the Scarlet artist took to TikTok to make fun of the ad, repeating what she says with a pitched-down voice and country accent.
The play on words is central to the campaign with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” An Instagram reel posted by American Eagle that boasts over one million views shows Sweeney standing in front of a poster of herself that says, “Sydney Sweeney has great genes.” The word “genes” is then crossed out and replaced with “jeans.”
It appears that neither Sweeney nor American Eagle has responded to the controversy.
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