Sydney Sweeney Reacts to Being Called ‘MAGA Barbie’ Online: ‘I Know What I Stand For’

Sydney Sweeney is responding to online commenters who have labeled her “MAGA Barbie.”

The Housemaid actress, 28, spoke with Cosmopolitan about the launch of her lingerie line, SYRN. During the interview, published Thursday, Jan. 29, she was asked about speculation around her political views — including the “MAGA Barbie” nickname that has circulated on social media.

“I’ve never been here to talk about politics. I’ve always been here to make art, so this is just not a conversation I want to be at the forefront of,” the Euphoria star said. “And I think because of that, people want to take it even further and use me as their own pawn. But it’s somebody else assigning something to me, and I can’t control that.”

When asked why she doesn’t publicly correct assumptions people make about her, Sweeney said she hasn’t found a way to do it without the conversation escalating.

“I haven’t figured it out. I’m not a hateful person. If I say, ‘That’s not true,’ they’ll come at me like, ‘You’re just saying that to look better.’ There’s no winning. There’s never any winning,” she said.

She added that she’s trying to stay grounded in what she knows about herself. “I just have to continue being who I am, because I know who I am. I can’t make everyone love me. I know what I stand for.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Sweeney reiterated that she doesn’t see herself as politically driven.

“I’m in the arts. I’m not here to speak on politics. That’s not an area I’ve ever even imagined getting into. It’s not why I became who I am,” she said. “I became an actor because I like to tell stories, but I don’t believe in hate in any form. I believe we should all love each other and have respect and understanding for one another.”

Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans commercial sparked controversy in July 2025, and President Donald Trump later made public comments in August about reports that she was a registered Republican.

She addressed the backlash in December, saying she was “honestly surprised by the reaction” to the campaign.

“I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true,” she said at the time.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness,” Sweeney added. “In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press, but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it. So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”