Sydney Sweeney Refuses to Apologise for 'Great Jeans' Ad Branded 'Pro-Nazi' — Amid Praise from Trump

The backlash began months ago but Sydney Sweeney is finally breaking her silence.

After weeks of speculation and online outrage, the Euphoria actress has confronted the controversy surrounding her American Eagle campaign, which critics claimed flirted with eugenics and white supremacy.

The ad, featuring the cheeky tagline 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,' went viral in July 2025, accused by some of using wordplay that glorified 'great genes'. What began as a denim campaign quickly spiralled into a cultural flashpoint.

Now, Sweeney is standing firm. In her first major interview since the uproar, the star calls the reaction 'surreal' and refuses to apologise. 'It didn't affect me one way or the other,' she said coolly.

Sydney Sweeney and the Great Jeans Gold Rush

While critics were 'wringing their hands' over the racial implications of the campaign, American Eagle Outfitters and Sydney Sweeney were reaping massive financial rewards.

The controversy, rather than hurting the brand, actually drove a significant spike in sales, confirming that the actress's highly marketable image remains a business powerhouse.

• The company's stock jumped by a staggering 25% in after-hours trading following an earnings call that touted the success of her campaign.
• American Eagle's CEO, Jay Schottenstein, credited the campaign with a rise in customer awareness, engagement, and comparable sales.
• The jeans Sweeney promoted reportedly sold out within a week.
• The campaign was also cited for generating a 'staggering 40 billion impressions'.

Sweeney herself downplayed the rumours that the backlash had hurt the brand's performance, adding that she was 'aware of the numbers as it was going.' She noted that when she saw 'all the headlines of in-store visits were down a percentage, none of it was true.'

This focus on the campaign's financial success, rather than its political optics, has further frustrated those who expected a public apology.

Sydney Sweeney's Political Firestorm

The American Eagle ad quickly escalated into a political battleground, making Sydney Sweeney an unlikely figure in America's ongoing culture wars. The campaign gained national attention when prominent political figures weighed in.

• President Donald Trump publicly supported the actress on social media, calling the ad the 'HOTTEST' out there and saying, 'Go get 'em Sydney!'.
• Vice President JD Vance also publicly defended the ad, criticising progressives for turning a 'normal jeans ad' into a political issue.

In the midst of the firestorm, it was also widely reported that the Euphoria star was a registered Republican in Florida, a fact she has not directly addressed. Sweeney, however, made it clear in her GQinterview that her political affiliation has no bearing on her work.

'I did a jean ad,' Sweeney stated. She added that while the White House's attention was 'surreal,' she maintains a separation between her profession and politics: 'I've always believed that I'm not here to tell people what to think. I'm just here to kind of open their eyes to different ideas.'

Her stance is notably different from many Hollywood celebrities who routinely use their platform for political commentary. Sweeney's refusal to engage politically, stating she only speaks out when she truly has an issue she cares about, offers a potential shift in the celebrity-activism paradigm.

Disclaimer: The headline was updated to accurately depict events.