Blue Jeans, Bad Genes? American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney Ad Sparks Racism Row and Eugenics Backlash

American Eagle’s latest denim campaign featuring Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney has ignited a firestorm of outrage, with critics accusing the brand of flirting with racist undertones and even eugenics nostalgia.

The campaign, branded “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” tries to play on the double meaning of “jeans” and “genes.”

In one ad, Sweeney — clad in denim — crosses out the word “Genes” on a billboard and replaces it with “Jeans.”

Another spot has the actress seductively zipping up her blue jeans while a voiceover muses about how genes determine traits like hair color, personality, and eye color. Sweeney finishes by gazing into the camera and saying, “My jeans are blue.”

Social media didn’t buy the pun. Many TikTok and Threads users slammed the ad for romanticizing genetic traits long associated with white supremacy—namely, blue eyes and blond hair. One critic put it bluntly: “When those traits are consistently uplifted as genetic excellence, we know where this leads.”

Advertising experts jumped in, pointing out that “good genes” was a core slogan for American eugenicists in the 20th century, often used to justify exclusion and forced sterilization. “This isn’t just tone-deaf marketing — it’s loaded with historical baggage,” warned professor Robin Landa.

The backlash drew parallels to infamous Calvin Klein ads from the ’80s, especially those with a young Brooke Shields, which were condemned for sexualizing minors and promoting coded messages about genetic purity.

One viral TikTok from writer E.B. Johnson asked why women today are still willing to echo advertising that once caused so much harm—“just for a paycheck.”

Not everyone was convinced by the outrage. Some dismissed the controversy as overblown, calling it clever wordplay and just another example of marketing stirring up a storm for attention. Either way, the buzz seemed to pay off: American Eagle’s stock jumped 4% after the campaign’s release.

Sydney Sweeney’s rising profile as a so-called “hot conservative girl” and pop-culture Republican icon only fanned the flames, injecting a political edge into the debate and intensifying scrutiny of her public image.