Sydney Sweeney Says Her ‘Silence’ on the American Eagle Controversy ‘Widened the Divide’

Sydney Sweeney is taking another crack at her response to that viral American Eagle denim ad.

Back in July, the 28-year-old actor starred in the brand’s controversial campaign, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” which played on the homophone of “genes” and “jeans.” Many felt the ad was a “dog whistle” that promotes white supremacist ideologies, while the backlash itself sparked a wave of support from the anti-woke crowd, with Trump calling it the “the hottest ad out there” in a Truth Social post. You can read a more in-depth explanation here.

“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” Sweeney told People while promoting her new film, The Housemaid, on December 5. “I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true.”

Noting that she tends to “lead with kindness,” Sweeney continued, “Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness.”

Ultimately, she seems to regret waiting months to address the topic. “In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it,” she said. “So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”

While Sydney Sweeney’s most recent statement did not clarify her political stance nor specify which “motives and labels” assigned to her “just aren’t true,” it was a bit less guarded than her initial response to GQ back in November.

“I did a jean ad,” Sweeney said at the time. “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.”

In that same interview, she called Trump’s online support of the ad “surreal” but said she didn’t have much time to process the backlash and discourse while filming Euphoria season three. When pressed for more thoughts on the ad itself and the current political climate, Sweeney replied, “I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.”