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What is eugenics? Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad controversy explained amid online dissent

American Eagle launched its new campaign last week.
posted by Nirali Sheth
Monday 7/28/2025 at 3:51AM EDT
  • Sydney Sweeney in a still from the American Eagle ad campaign (Photo: Instagram/@americaneagle)
    Sydney Sweeney in a still from the American Eagle ad campaign (Photo: Instagram/@americaneagle)

    American Eagle's recent ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney has sparked a controversy. The campaign that launched last week saw the actress promote the company's trademark product with the tagline:

    "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans."

    Several billboards across Times Square and Las Vegas featured the tagline, which seemingly had a pun. Notably, it played on the words "genes" and "jeans." One of the clips saw Sweeny painting over the word "great genes" to become "great jeans."

    Many criticized the advertisement for its tone-deaf marketing, many even suggesting it was promoting eugenics.

    "ohhhh haha like GENES!! i get it! she has good jeans like she has good GENES! hahahaha like in a nazi way!! totally!!!!!" one sarcastically commented.
    "I didn’t know what everyone was freaking out about with that Sydney Sweeney ad but then I realized I should watch it with the sound on and OH MY GOD. Yeah that’s some f**ked Aryan eugenics sh*t," another added.
    "american eagle needs to delete those sydney sweeney ads. they are genuinely scary," a person pointed out.

    According to History.com, eugenics is the practice or advocacy of "improving the human species" by "selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits." Essentially, "breeding out" ills like disease, criminal tendencies, disabilities, and anyone who fell outside the so-called social norms.

    Notably, eugenicists encouraged people who were "superior" to reproduce and discouraged reproduction of those deemed otherwise.

    However, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute, this is a scientifically inaccurate theory. Further, eugenicists have been in racist and xenophobic beliefs, focused on the idea of "good genes."

    The most well-known example would be the N*zis and their attempts to create an advanced Aryan race while exterminating those who were inferior.

    However, some came to Sweeney's defense.

    "So Sydney Sweeney is being compared to n*zis now because of a clever ad saying her genes are good like American eagle jeans? You people are so miserable it’s actually sad," one noted.
    "I'm not sure how to say this nicely but if you think a jeans ad with a pun about Sydney Sweeney being pretty is a n*zi dogwhistle you genuinely need to put the phone down for a while," another added.
    "Whether you like it or not, beauty sells. Always has, always will. Denial doesn’t change the market," a user wrote.

    Sydney Sweeney and American Eagle's collaboration included her designing a fall denim line that would raise money for a domestic abuse charity

    One of Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle advertisements saw her wearing a denim top and bottoms and saying:

    "My body's composition is determined by my jeans..."

    Meanwhile, as the camera panned, it focused on her cleavage, prompting the actress to state:

    "Hey! Eyes up here."

    The narrator then proceeded to state the aforementioned tagline. Notably, some of the criticism called out the suggestive undertones of the commercial.

    However, others defended the campaign for its alleged anti-woke stance.

    According to Blast, as part of the initiative, American Eagle had Sweeney design a denim line called The Sydney Jean.

    Notably, it is priced at $89.95, with 100% of the money going to Crisis Text Line, a nonprofit that offers mental health support to victims of domestic abuse. Some netizens praised the charitable intent but called out the execution.

    In another, the Anyone But You star is lying down on a couch as the camera pans up. Meanwhile, Sydney Sweeney states:

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

    It is worth noting that this particular commercial seems to have been taken down.

    Needless to say, many criticized the wording. X user @nojumper shared a video by a TikToker likening it to "Nazi propaganda."

    She noted that teenage girls and young adults made up the majority of American Eagle customers before adding:

    "The fact the this type of advertising is being used that feels so for the male gaze and so over s*xualized... I just don't like it."

    She noted that getting a "blue-eyed, blonde, white woman" and having her talk about "perfect genetics" felt wrong. The TikToker also compared it to Brooke Shield’s infamous 1980 ad campaign for Calvin Klein.

    In the commercial, Shields, who was 14 at the time, can be heard asking, "You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvin’s?" before adding, "Nothing."

    Despite the controversy, American Eagle has seen a 16% increase in sales, according to Salon.

    Neither the brand nor Sweeney has publicly reacted to the discourse as of this writing.

    TOPICS: Sydney Sweeney, American Eagle