American Eagle's new ad campaign starring Sydney Sweeney has sparked controversy. The campaign, promoting Sweeney's "great jeans," plays on the phrase "great genes," leading to accusations of eugenics and white supremacy online. Critics point to a video where Sweeney discusses genes and then transitions to her jeans, while others defend the campaign as a rejection of overly "woke" marketing. The backlash comes amid a larger cultural shift towards more traditional beauty standards. American Eagle has yet to publicly address the controversy, but they recently featured a non-white model in a subsequent post, prompting speculation of damage control.

Prepared by Christopher Adams and reviewed by editorial team.