Overview

• American Eagle rolled out its late-July campaign starring Sydney Sweeney with the slogan “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” using a jeans/genes homonym to spotlight its denim line.
• Online users have split sharply, with some condemning the ads as echoing eugenic and white supremacist ideals and others praising their rejection of “woke” beauty standards.
• Texas Senator Ted Cruz posted a pro-campaign endorsement on X, framing the ads as a victory over left-wing critics.
• The campaign has driven a nearly 20 percent rebound in American Eagle’s stock price and the company says the collaboration is aimed at cementing its No. 1 status among Generation Z, with no further comments from the brand or Sweeney.
• Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian describes the ads as part of a broader swing back to traditional beauty ideals, reflecting a deepening U.S. culture war over inclusivity.