‘Surreal’: Sydney Sweeney Addresses Trump Support During Controversial Jeans Ad Backlash

Actress Sydney Sweeney broke her silence on backlash to her viral jeans ad, calling it “surreal” that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance weighed in to support for her.

In a Tuesday interview with GQ, Sweeney addressed the July ad campaign for American Eagle, which received backlash from some critics who accused the company of alluding to eugenics and promoting whiteness with their tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has Great Jeans,” comparing her “jeans” to “genes.”

The president said at the time he “loved” Sweeney’s new ad after finding out she is a registered Republican, while the vice president bashed Democrats over the backlash.

“My political advice to the Democrats is: continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi,” he told the Ruthless podcast.

“It was surreal,” Sweeney told GQ about the public support from Trump and Vance.

The actress went on to explain that she did not want to release a statement at the time addressing the controversy.

“I’ve always believed that I’m not here to tell people what to think,” she said.

She added:

I know who I am. I know what I value. I know that I’m a kind person. I know that I love a lot, and I know that I’m just excited to see what happens next. And so I don’t really let other people define who I am.

Sweeney dismissed the criticisms thrown at the ad, explaining it was a simple ad promoting jeans, a product she loves.

“I did a jean ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life,” she said, adding that it “didn’t affect” her “one way or the other.”

An Economist/YouGov poll conducted among 1,635 U.S. adults in August found that just 12% actually found the Sweeney ad offensive.

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