Sydney Sweeney says Donald Trump’s reaction to her American Eagle ad was ‘surreal’; says backlash didn’t affect her | Hollywood News
When Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad dropped, it caused quite a stir. The ad was criticised for being in poor taste, and people claimed that it promoted eugenics. However, US President Donald Trump lauded Sweeney and the brand for the ad. Now the actor has addressed the controversy and what she thought about POTUS being on her side.
In an interview with GQ, the Euphoria actor said, “I’ve always believed that I’m not here to tell people what to think. I know who I am. I know what I value. I know that I’m a kind person. I know that I love a lot, and I know that I’m just excited to see what happens next. And so I don’t really let other people define who I am.”
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Sydney Sweeney revealed that she was definitely surprised when she witnessed the kind of reaction the American Eagle ad had received. Most of the uproar had been around the line “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” which was a pun on how she has great genes. But the actor said that she didn’t think much of it, and she did the ad because she loved jeans. “I did a jean ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life… I knew at the end of the day what that ad was for, and it was great jeans; it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”
However, Sweeney did have people from the White House rooting for her, including communications manager Steven Cheung, Vice President JD Vance, and of course, Donald Trump. Sweeney said that receiving that particular stream of support was “surreal”, even though she didn’t see much of it due to her busy work schedule.
Trump had posted on Truth Social about the ad just a few hours after reports came in that Sweeney was supposedly a regered Republican. He wrote, “Sydney Sweeney, a regered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves’. Go get ‘em, Sydney!”
