Summary:
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Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad sparks race controversy for celebrating her ‘great genes’ in denim campaign.
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Critics call out racially insensitive undertones, accusing the ad of praising whiteness and echoing eugenicist rhetoric.
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Despite backlash, American Eagle continues with the campaign, featuring the Sydney Jean with proceeds going to charity.
Sydney Sweeney’s latest partnership with American Eagle has ignited a social media storm rooted not in fashion but in the optics of race, wordplay, and whiteness.
In a campaign meant to underscore American Eagle’s dominance as the “No. 1 jeans brand for Gen Z,” the brand released a denim-heavy video featuring the Euphoria actress spray-painting over a billboard that reads: “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes.” Sweeney then crosses out “genes” and replaces it with “jeans.”
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But what was intended as clever branding quickly veered into controversy, with many on social media calling the tagline racially insensitive and “disturbing.” Critics argue that the ad celebrates Sweeney’s white, blonde, blue-eyed appearance in a way that echoes eugenicist rhetoric.
“This is what happens when you have no people of color in a room,” one commenter wrote on Instagram, a sentiment echoed by dozens who accused the campaign of trafficking in racially charged dog whistles.
Another viral response on X (formerly Twitter) read: “It’s giving ‘Subtle 1930s Germany.’” A third user quipped, “Eugenics,” referencing eugenics, the pseudoscientific belief in selective breeding for “desirable” genetic traits.
Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle, oh my god. pic.twitter.com/tDkeGT9R7G
— Sydney Sweeney Daily (@sweeneydailyx) July 24, 2025
Marketing strategist Angie from @vital_media_marketing critiqued the visual language of the ad, pointing to how the camera lingers on Sweeney’s features. “Praising Sydney Sweeney for her ‘great genes‘ in the context of her white, blonde hair, blue-eyed appearance is one of the loudest and most obvious racialized dog whistles we’ve seen in a while,” she said in a TikTok post.
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According to Salon, the phrase “great genes” has long been used as coded language to celebrate whiteness, thinness, and Eurocentric beauty standards. In a parallel that many have cited, former President Donald Trump sparked backlash in 2020 when he told a mostly white crowd in Minnesota: “You have good genes… a lot of it is about the genes, isn’t it?”
Some have suggested the campaign could have avoided controversy by featuring a diverse cast under the same slogan to shift the narrative from exclusivity to inclusivity.
Despite the backlash, American Eagle appears to be leaning into the campaign. The “Syd’s Picks” collection is still available online, with discounted items and a flagship product—the Sydney Jean, part of the brand’s Dreamy Drape franchise. The jeans feature a butterfly emblem symbolizing domestic violence awareness, and 100 percent of proceeds go to the nonprofit Crisis Text Line, per The Hollywood Reporter.
As of publication, neither Sweeney nor American Eagle has publicly responded to the growing criticism.
The campaign will be hard to miss—American Eagle has launched 3D billboards in several cities and will project Sweeney’s likeness across Las Vegas’ Sphere. An AR lens on Snapchat also lets fans “try on” her jeans virtually.
