Actress Sydney Sweeney just addressed the viral backlash against her following the American Eagle jeans campaign, not explicitly admitting to being woke but instead saying she is “against hate.”
Mostly, the 28-year-old star just expressed confusion about why everyone was up in arms over the ad campaign.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” Sweeney told People in an interview published over the weekend. “I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true.”
“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness,” she continued. “In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it. So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”
The comments come after many assumed Sweeney was a closet conservative, as evidenced by her being registered as a Republican and her unwillingness to comment on the American Eagle controversy when it happened, including when confronted by an aggressive GQ journalist last month in a viral exchange.
Controversy erupted over the summer over an ad campaign featuring Sweeney in various seductive poses while saying she had “good jeans.” The double entendre with the word “genes” made leftists deem the ad racist, noting that Sweeney is white with blond hair and blue eyes.
In one of the ads, Sweeney says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
American Eagle responded to the backlash by issuing a simple statement: “’Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”
The denim collection did exceptionally well, with most of the featured pieces selling out despite calls from leftists for a boycott.
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