How a denim pun turned Sydney Sweeney into Trump’s Republican muse

Highlights

• Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad sparked backlash over a “genes/jeans” pun
• Critics accused it of echoing eugenics and white supremacist rhetoric
• Public records revealed Sweeney is a registered Republican
• Donald Trump praised her and attacked Taylor Swift in the same post
• American Eagle stock soared as the ad became a right-wing rallying point

Let’s be honest: no one expected a jeans ad to spiral into this. Not Sydney Sweeney, not American Eagle, and definitely not the internet and yet, here we are.

It started with a dumb pun. It exploded into a cultural war. Now it’s a headline-grabbing mess involving eugenics, Republicans, and Donald Trump shouting into Truth Social. Somehow, a 27-year-old actress became the poster girl for a movement she hasn’t even acknowledged.

Here’s how it all unravelled.

The controversial American Eagle ad featuring Sydney Sweeney in head-to-toe denim Instagram/americaneagle

1. The ad: A pun so bad, it started a fire

On 23 July, American Eagle dropped a denim ad with Sydney Sweeney, best known for Euphoria and The White Lotus. In the clip, she says:

“Genes are passed down from parents... My jeans are blue.”

It was supposed to be cheeky. It ended up setting X and TikTok on fire. Critics accused the ad of echoing white supremacist rhetoric, especially with a blue-eyed, blonde actress talking about “genes.” The line between “playful” and “problematic” blurred, fast. The internet saw something way darker and it was just getting started.

2. Backlash: "Nazi jeans? Seriously?!"

People didn’t hold back. Users called the ad tone-deaf, dog-whistling, and straight-up “eugenics-coded.” Words like “Aryan” and “racial superiority” were trending. Even though it was likely just a bad pun from an overconfident marketing team, the optics were bad. Really bad.

It reeked of eugenics (that vile, discredited pseudo-science about "superior" genetics). "Literal Nazi propaganda," some screamed. "Tone-deaf!" "Promoting racial superiority!"

Others scratched their heads: "It's just jeans, people! Lighten up!" Too late. The fuse was lit. The internet doesn’t do nuance.

3. The plot twist: Then, her political registration leaked

Soon after the outrage, someone dug up public records showing Sweeney registered as a Republican in Florida, just a month after Donald Trump’s criminal conviction.

This revived an earlier controversy. Remember 2022? Photos surfaced from her mum's party with guests wearing "Make Sixty Great Again" hats (a MAGA parody). Sweeney pleaded then: "Stop making assumptions... an innocent celebration."

With her Republican registration now public, assumptions came flooding back, and this time, they stuck.

Now? Crickets. Total, deafening silence from Sweeney.

Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad sparked backlash over a “genes/jeans” punInstagram/americaneagle

4. Enter Trump: "She's HOT! (And Republican!)"

On 3 August, a reporter told Trump about Sweeney’s political affiliation while he was boarding Air Force One. He lit up:

“She’s a Republican? Oh, now I love her ad!”

Two days later, he took to Truth Social with a post praising her, saying "Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there... Go get 'em Sydney!" and claimed American Eagle jeans were “flying off the shelves.”

He misspelled her name as “Sidney.” He didn’t correct it. He didn’t need to. He’d made his point.

5. Trump's double tap: Slamming Swift & "woke losers"

In the same post, Trump lashed out at Taylor Swift, again:

“I HATE her... She was booed out of the Super Bowl and is NO LONGER HOT.”

(Spoiler: She wasn’t booed, and she’s still doing just fine.)

He then blamed Jaguar and Bud Light for going “woke” and declared that being Republican is now “what you want to be.” Sweeney wasn't just selling jeans anymore; Trump drafted her as the star recruit in his anti-woke army.

Donald Trump praised her and attacked Taylor Swift in the same postX Screengrab/Pop Base

6. JD Vance and right-wing media pile on

US Vice President JD Vance joined the conversation, calling Sweeney an “All-American girl” and mocking liberals for “calling everyone who finds her attractive a Nazi.”

Conservative media roared. This wasn't about an ad anymore; it was a glorious battle against "cancel culture" lunacy. Sweeney, silent as a stone, was now their accidental poster child. The narrative was simple: look at how crazy the left is, cancelling a girl for selling jeans.

7. American Eagle held its ground and made a profit

Instead of apologising, American Eagle stood by the ad:

"Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story... Great jeans look good on everyone."

AE's stock price skyrocketed over 20%. They doubled down on inclusivity, and ironically, the controversy gave them a boost. The value? 10 or 20 times the ad spend! Marketing experts said the viral attention (good or bad) paid off tenfold.

Chaos, it seems, is profitable.

8. Sweeney? Still completely silent

No statement. No apology. No clapback. Just silence.

Which is smart, maybe. Or maybe it’s avoidance. Either way, people are filling in the blanks for her. Some see her as a symbol of resistance. Others see her as complicit. The truth? Only she knows. But in today’s world, silence often becomes its own kind of answer.

As one blunt PR expert warned: "She’s a bombshell, but she’s not box office yet... It’ll be carnage."

9. Career-wise, this could go either way

Sweeney’s team probably hoped this would blow over. But Trump’s full-throated endorsement has ensured it won’t.

PR experts say this level of politicisation can hurt, especially for someone still building their star power. As a strategist put it: “She’s not Margot Robbie yet. This could backfire.”

She’s now a trending name, yes, but not for her work. That’s a dangerous spot to be in for an actor with ambition.

Sydney Sweeney’s ad started as a joke — now it’s a political firestormGetty Images

10. The real story isn’t about jeans

This isn’t about denim anymore. Or even Sydney Sweeney, really.

It’s about how a single sentence in a fashion ad cracked open every fault line in American pop culture, race, beauty standards, cancel culture, and politics. And how public figures get swept into battles they didn’t sign up for.

One poorly written pun turned into a culture war grenade. And Sweeney? She’s now stuck in the blast radius, like it or not.

So... what was this really about?

Let's be brutally honest. That ad was clumsy. The "genes" bit with Sweeney's look? Yeah, it was tone-deaf at best, grossly insensitive at worst. It deserved criticism. But what happened next? That wasn't about the ad. It was about the hunger for a fight.

Sydney Sweeney probably just wanted to sell jeans. What she ended up selling, unintentionally, was a case study in how fame works now. You don’t need to say anything controversial. The internet will do it for you. Then Trump might repost it. Next, you're a symbol. Then you're a controversy.

And just like that, “great jeans” became a political statement, one pair of blue jeans at a time.