Overview

• Proceeds from a limited-edition “Sydney Jean” drop are being pledged to Crisis Text Line as part of the brand’s defense strategy
• American Eagle cites favorable internal polling even as critics maintain the jeans/genes wordplay evokes eugenic or white-supremacist undertones
• Consumer Edge data show U.S. website traffic soared more than 60% year-over-year after the campaign launch, while Pass_by reports in-store foot traffic fell nearly 9% in early August
• An Axios and Generation Lab survey finds 39% of young women and 42% of Democrats say the ads make them less likely to buy the retailer’s jeans
• Sydney Sweeney has not publicly addressed the backlash and continues to share denim-focused social posts and promote her new film