Woke Karens Don't Like Sydney Sweeney's Jeans

The American Eagle jeans campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney, launched in July 2025 with the tagline "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," has sparked significant controversy due to its perceived racial undertones and suggestive tone. 

The campaign, intended to promote a new denim line with proceeds benefiting Crisis Text Line for domestic violence awareness, centers on a play on words between "jeans" and "genes." In one ad, Sweeney, who is blonde and blue-eyed, says, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue," followed by a voiceover stating, "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans." Another video shows her crossing out "genes" on a billboard and replacing it with "jeans."

Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) 

Critics argue the campaign's wordplay evokes eugenics-era language, historically tied to promoting white beauty standards and racial superiority, particularly given Sweeney's stereotypically "Aryan" features. Social media users, especially on TikTok and X, have labeled the ads as "tone-deaf," "fascist," or even "Nazi propaganda," pointing to the focus on "great genes" as a dog whistle for white supremacy, especially in the current politically charged climate with debates over DEI initiatives. 

Additionally, the campaign has been criticized for oversexualization, with videos focusing on Sweeney's body, such as a close-up of her cleavage while she says, "Hey! Eyes up here!" Critics argue this undermines the campaign’s charitable intent and echoes problematic advertising tropes, drawing comparisons to a controversial 1980 Calvin Klein campaign featuring Brooke Shields. 

On the other hand, supporters, particularly from conservative-leaning groups, have praised the campaign for rejecting "woke" advertising, with one X user stating, "Woke advertising is dead. Sydney Sweeney killed it." 

Also, some have pointed out the irony.  The revered Margaret Sanger, who founded Planned Parenthood was an adherent of the eugenics movement. Perhaps that's just not important for the pierced nosed lefties of today.  Or perhaps they're just ignorant.

Regardless, the campaign has been a commercial success, boosting American Eagle’s stock by 10–21% since its launch, with some analysts suggesting it could become a "meme stock" due to viral attention.

Neither Sweeney nor American Eagle has publicly addressed the backlash as of Tuesday.