Did American Eagle apologize over Sydney Sweeney ad? Viral post explored as Beyonce Levi ad dragged into controversy

As online discourse surrounding American Eagle's ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney continues, netizens have been calling out Beyonce and Levi's collaboration last year. The uproar began on Tuesday, July 28, 2025, when netizens, including X user @SmashMemez, criticized calling Sweeney's commercial racist but not Beyonce's.

For context, last week the denim brand debuted their ad featuring Sweeney. It featured the tagline, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans." Notably, the word "jeans" was played as a pun for "genes." This drew criticism, many slamming it for alluding to eugenics.

So it’s okay for Beyonce to show off her blonde hair & blue jeans in a Levi AD.

But Sydney Sweeney does it and the left has a meltdown.

Unreal.

Imagine claiming you’re the party for women & then hating on women. pic.twitter.com/cUbwXPrpbX

— ASH (@SmashMemez) July 29, 2025

In response, others slammed the backlash, stating it was the "left" having a meltdown. Bringing up Beyonce's ad, they called the outrage hypocritical. X user @SmashMemez wrote:

"So it’s okay for Beyonce to show off her blonde hair & blue jeans in a Levi AD. But Sydney Sweeney does it and the left has a meltdown. Unreal. Imagine claiming you’re the party for women & then hating on women."

The Halo hitmaker collaborated with Levi's after dropping her 2024 album, Cowboy Carter. Notably, the project featured a song named after the brand, Levii's Jeans. Much of the campaign saw Beyonce in platinum blonde hair, her look for the album.

Some internet users (like X user @Nursekatejohn) alleged her appearance was "cultural appropriation."

Amid the controversy, some users have made incorrect claims that American Eagle has apologized for the advertisement. However, this is not true.

American Eagle has not released any statements addressing the controversy

On Wednesday, X user Tanner Bruss (@tan_bruss) claimed American Eagle addressed the online backlash, sarcastically apologizing for the same. Sharing an alleged screenshot featuring a fake logo with the message, the account wrote:

"We sincerely apologise for featuring Sydney Sweeney in our recent ad. In hindsight, we underestimated the combined impact of her blue eyes, blonde hair and general hotness."

Per the mock statement, the brand claimed they did not realize "how big her b**bs would be." It continued to note that their marketing team had been sent to "denim sensitivity training." It continued:

"Thank you for your feedback. Please stop emailing us. (We're still trying to recover from the group chat fallout)."

🚨BREAKING: American Eagle has issued a response to the drama surrounding their add including Sydney Sweeney!

🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/qsIZfogxnk

— Tanner Bruss 🇺🇸 (@tan_bruss) July 30, 2025

Further, citing "sources with direct knowledge," TMZ reported that despite the backlash, American Eagle's commercial was well received. The outlet claimed that an independent polling showed about 70% of the people found the commercial "appealing."

Further, the insider reportedly noted that the figures showed that "social media was not reflective of real life," and the online reaction was not indicative of how their customers felt. However, the outlet later shared an update clarifying that the information was not from a spokesperson for the denim brand.

American Eagle launched their ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney last week. One of their ads saw the actress painting over the word "Great Genes" to display its tagline, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans." In another, she can be seen buttoning up her denims while stating:

"Jeans are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue."

Needless to say, some took offense at the wordplay, slamming it for seemingly promoting eugenics.

Neither American Eagle nor Sydney Sweeney has publicly commented on the controversy.