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American Eagle’s latest campaign featuring Euphoria and The White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney was designed to be witty, youthful, and playful. Instead, it’s ignited a national controversy that shows no signs of cooling down. At the heart of the backlash is a pun that, for many, lands uncomfortably close to America’s dark past with eugenics and racial superiority.
In the ad, Sweeney looks into the camera and states, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring… My jeans are blue.” The ad ends with, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” A follow-up video shows her crossing out “Great Genes” on a billboard and replacing it with “Jeans”, cheekily asking viewers: “See what I did there?”
Critics argue that casting a blue-eyed, blonde-haired white woman to deliver a line referencing “great genes” is, even unintentionally, evocative of racial purity rhetoric rooted in early 20th-century American eugenics. This movement, which promoted the idea of “improving” the population through selective breeding, heavily targeted marginalized communities and later influenced Nazi ideology.
The campaign struck a nerve at a time when national debates about identity, beauty standards, and political symbolism are already heightened. Sydney Sweeney’s alleged political affiliation as a registered Republican in Florida further stoked the flames,especially after former President Donald Trump praised her on Truth Social, saying the jeans were “flying off the shelves.”
Experts and cultural commentators have weighed in, pointing out that denim has long been entangled with political and social identity. Emma McClendon, a fashion studies professor, emphasized how denim represents rebellion and freedom, but also how wordplay around “genes” in 2025 feels like a new, more provocative turn.
“Denim is deeply tied to national identity,” McClendon said. “In that context, American Eagle’s use of genetics feels tone-deaf and clearly meant to provoke.”
Others saw the campaign as possibly liberal-coded. Drexel University’s Joseph Hancock suggested the “blue” jeans line might reference political colors,blue for Democrats,rather than conservative values. But even that interpretation hasn’t eased tensions.
Social media remains divided. Some users argue the controversy is overblown and the pun harmless, while others say American Eagle should have anticipated the racial optics and cast a more diverse group to deliver the message.
Denim, Dollars, and Beyoncé’s Counter-Moment
Despite the outcry, American Eagle is cashing in. Following Trump’s public support, the company’s stock surged 23.5% in a single day. It closed at $12.82, while Levi Strauss,coincidentally launching its own campaign with Beyoncé,saw its stock climb nearly 2%.
Beyoncé’s “Live in Levi’s” ad features her in various denim looks with blonde hair, evoking similar aesthetics but generating far less controversy. Her fans flooded social media with praise, and a single Instagram photo from the campaign drew over 72,000 likes. Levi’s has not commented on the cultural storm, but Wall Street’s reaction suggests that denim is having a financial,and cultural,moment, even if it’s a divisive one.
As the conversation continues, it’s clear that jeans are once again more than fashion,they’re a mirror for the values America is still struggling to define.
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