American Eagle Doubles Down on Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Great Jeans’ Campaign Despite Backlash

Following growing backlash over its “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign, American Eagle issued a statement via Instagram in an effort to clarify its messaging.

In a post shared on August 1, the brand stated in a graphic: “‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”

The fall campaign, launched on July 23, features 27-year-old actress Sydney Sweeney modeling a variety of denim looks styled by Molly Dickson. Among the outfits are a modern take on the Canadian tuxedo—blue jeans with a matching jacket—along with super-baggy light-wash jeans paired with a white T-shirt and a distressed version styled with a white tank top.

However, the controversy surrounding the campaign has less to do with the fashion and more with its underlying message.

In one of the videos, which has since been removed from some of American Eagle’s social media platforms (though it remains available on Facebook), Sweeney is seen zipping up her jeans while lying down. She narrates: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” A voiceover then adds, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”

Some viewers interpreted the pun on “jeans” and “genes” as an unsettling reference to eugenics. According to the National Institutes of Health, eugenics is broadly defined as the use of selective breeding to improve the human race.

Sayantani DasGupta, a physician, author, and scholar who teaches Narrative Medicine at Columbia University, addressed the controversy in a TikTok video that has garnered nearly 4 million views. She explained that she plans to use the ad in her classroom this semester to provoke discussion around race, ethics, and contemporary culture.

Others have argued that the ad campaign perpetuates the male gaze. Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian questioned the campaign’s logic, writing: “Are they trying to say that what matters is not what you look like but what you put on your body? Or that you are assigned a denim style at birth and you must never waver from it? Also: Is Sweeney the every girl or the only girl?”

The campaign has also drawn comparisons to Brooke Shields’ infamous 1980 Calvin Klein ad, which caused a stir due to its provocative tagline and Shields’ young age at the time.

Despite the criticism, the campaign appears to be delivering results for American Eagle. The brand’s stock rose by 10 percent in just a few days following the campaign’s debut, adding more than $200 million to its market value, Vanity Fair reports.

Sweeney previously told PEOPLE that she was “freaking out” and “so excited” to join the campaign, adding that American Eagle jeans are “the comfiest jeans I’ve ever worn.”