Sydney Sweeney Discusses ‘Uncontrollable’ Response to American Eagle Ad Controversy

Sydney Sweeney has downplayed the backlash towards her American Eagle ‘good genes’ ad, as she insisted the response to the controversial campaign was ‘uncontrollable’.

The actress, 27, sparked a cultural firestorm earlier this year when the denim brand released the campaign, with the wordplay on ‘good jeans’ and ‘good genes’ drawing comparisons to the racist language of eugenicists.

The slogan quickly ignited outrage online, with critics accusing the ad of promoting ‘white supremacy’ and racial dog whistling.

Despite the public outrage, Sydney remained relatively silent on the controversy, only breaking her silence in an interview last week, where she dodged questions about the campaign and refused to defend or condemn it.

Now in a new interview with The Guardian to promote her new film Christy, she continued to avoid addressing the criticism, insisting that she has zero control over how her actions are perceived.

Asked about the negative reaction she’s faced over the ad and her reported right-wing leanings, she replied that she was ‘always just me’.

Sydney Sweeney has downplayed the backlash towards her American Eagle ‘good genes’ ad, as she insisted the response to the controversial campaign was ‘uncontrollable’ (seen Wednesday)

The actress, 27, sparked a cultural firestorm earlier this year when the denim brand released the campaign, with the wordplay on ‘good jeans ‘ and ‘good genes’ drawing comparisons to the racist language of eugenicists (pictured)

Now in a new interview with The Guardian to promote her new film Christy, she continued to avoid addressing the criticism, insisting that she has zero control over how her actions are perceived (seen earlier this month)

She said: ‘I think what’s interesting is I’m always myself. I’m always just me. But it’s what other people put on me that’s uncontrollable.

‘Like you’re going to write this article… Then people will read it and have their own perception. So I try and be as much of me as possible, but it’s always through other people’s lenses.’

Friday saw the release of her latest movie, Christy, a biographical sports drama following Christy Martin’s rise to becoming the most successful female boxer of the 90s.

Reflecting on playing Christy, Sydney explained that the trailblazing boxer’s experiences – as a gay woman navigating male-dominated boxing and surviving abuse at the hands of her husband and trainer – resonated deeply with her.

She admitted after reading Christy’s story, she saw parallels between them, saying that ‘on a lot of different levels I understood and could relate to Christy. 

‘She has her fight inside the ring and outside the ring and I fight within my own ring and outside my ring.

‘Misunderstood. Complicated relationships. Growing up as a woman. Carving out our own paths and figuring out who we are.’

However, the film has failed to garner love from both critics and cinema-goers, only grossing a meager $1.3 million over the weekend.

Reflecting on playing Christy, Sydney explained that the trailblazing boxer’s experiences – as a gay woman navigating male-dominated boxing and surviving abuse at the hands of her husband and trainer – resonated deeply with her (seen in film)

Christy  – which had a 67% score on Rotten Tomatoes Sunday evening – was released in 2,011 theaters, averaging $649 per venue, according to The Wrap.

The opening for the movie ranked in the top 12 worst ever four movies showing on more than 2000 screens, Box Office Mojo reported.

Three of the films ranking below it were released within the first 14 months of the coronavirus pandemic outbreak in March 2020, a timeframe when movie theatres took a huge business hit amid health mandates.

It comes after Sydney attracted further criticism last week, after she avoided answering questions pertaining to the criticism of her American Eagle ad.

Instead, she suggested she was unperturbed by the backlash and wasn’t on either side of the debate, as she side-stepped all questions about the controversy.

Speaking to GQ about the backlash, Sydney minimized her role, stating: ‘I did a jean ad. 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.’

After being pressed about Donald Trump comments praising the campaign as ‘the hottest ad ever’ after learning Sydney was a registered Republican, the White Lotus star called it ‘surreal’.

However, the film has failed to garner love from both critics and cinema-goers, only grossing a meager $1.3 million over the weekend (seen in film) 

While most expected the Euphoria star to either defend the advert and insist it had been misconstrued by the public, or else express regret for the negative interpretation, she chose to do neither 

But she insisted that she had not been aware of the response or following it closely because she was busy at work and away from her phone.

She said: ‘It was surreal… it’s not that I didn’t have that feeling, but I wasn’t thinking of it like that. Or like, of any of it. I kind of just put my phone away. 

‘I was filming every day. I’m filming Euphoria, so I’m working 16-hour days and I don’t really bring my phone on set, so I work and then I go home and I go to sleep. So I didn’t really see a lot of it’.

And when given the chance to address claims the ad condoned ‘genetic superiority,’ Sydney dodged the opportunity to either defend or apologise for the campaign.

Instead, she issued a vague response that neither refuted the white supremacism claims nor agreed with them, simply stating: ‘I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.’

Sydney took to Instagram on Saturday to share a carousel of photos documenting the production of Christy, gushing that her experience making the movie ‘will stay in [her] heart forever.’

The star said: ‘I walked onto set everyday surrounded by a crew that poured their hearts and souls into this story. I fought alongside a group of women who became my family.

Sydney took to Instagram on Saturday to share a carousel of photos documenting the production of Christy, gushing that her experience making the movie ‘will stay in [her] heart forever’

‘We trained harder than we ever thought we could then would end up singing our hearts out on the ring floor.’

While she also paid tribute to Christy herself, who she said inspired everyone on the movie ‘to step into our power.

‘Her story made us fight harder for ourselves and for every woman who has ever been silenced,’ Sydney said. ‘This film was painful, joyful, resilient, beautiful, it was everything.’

The White Lotus alum wrapped up her statement by thanking the movie’s director David Michôd, saying: ‘Thank you David for believing in me,’ adding that she ‘will never forget the way it changed’ her.