Overview
- In a new GQ interview, Sweeney says she never considered issuing a formal statement and maintains, “I did a jean ad … it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”
- She calls it “surreal” that President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance publicly weighed in, adding she largely avoided the discourse while working long days on Euphoria.
- Sweeney disputes reports that American Eagle saw declines in store traffic during the controversy, saying such headlines were “made up” during the company’s quiet period.
- American Eagle has stood by the campaign and later reported improved results and a share-price jump, with CEO Jay Schottenstein crediting recent marketing that included Sweeney’s ads.
- The campaign’s “great jeans/genes” wordplay drew accusations of eugenics dog-whistling online; American Eagle responded that the message was solely about Sweeney’s jeans and her story.