Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Ad Faces Backlash Over "Great Genes" Campaign

Sydney Sweeney’s new American Eagle campaign, titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” has sparked major controversy. Social media users accused the ad of echoing Nazi-era propaganda by promoting what they see as “genetic superiority.”

In one commercial, Sweeney, clad entirely in denim, strides toward a billboard and paints over the word "Genes," replacing it with "Jeans." Another video shows her lying down while buttoning and zipping her jeans, with a voiceover explaining that traits like eye color and personality are passed through one’s genes. She closes by declaring, “My jeans are blue.”

Critics argue that the ad’s focus on blue jeans and blue eyes has troubling racial undertones. “When traits like blue eyes and blond hair are celebrated as genetic excellence, we know where this tends to lead,” one TikTok user wrote, adding that the message evokes “pseudoscientific language of racial superiority.” The comment section filled quickly with similar outrage.

“Who approved this campaign?” asked one user. Another noted, “This shows what happens when no people of color are involved in approvals.” Others wrote blunt responses: “Never shopping at AE again” and “It’s giving ‘Subtle 1930s Germany.’”

The controversy highlights how a wordplay stunt—genes versus jeans—can unravel disastrously without sensitivity to historical context.