Sydney Sweeney ad sparked controversy. Here’s what Americans think of it in poll

An American Eagle advertisement campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has ignited a fiery debate, drawing reactions from social media users, celebrities and even the White House. But what do ordinary Americans think of it?

The controversy stems from the clothing brand’s use of wordplay involving “jeans” and “genes.”

In one commercial, released in late July, Sweeney explains, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” while the camera lingers on her denim pants. It concludes with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”

The ad, and others like it, sparked a flurry of comments on apps like TikTok and X, with some users accusing American Eagle of promoting eugenics, white nationalism and “Nazi propaganda.”

“It’s more than cheeky wordplay, it’s a dog whistle,” one TikTok user said.

Public figures soon weighed in. Singer Doja Cat released a video appearing to mock Sweeney — who rose to fame starring in shows like “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus.” Late night host Stephen Colbert addressed the ad campaign on his show, saying online claims that it supports eugenics “might be a bit of an overreaction.”

Vice President JD Vance also offered his thoughts on the matter during a podcast interview, accusing Democrats of making a fuss over nothing.

“My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi,” he said. “That appears to be their actual strategy.”

American Eagle put out a statement on Aug. 1, saying the viral ad campaign “is and always was about the jeans,” adding “great jeans look good on everyone.”

What do Americans think?

Most Americans appear to agree that reactions to the ad have been overblown, with a new YouGov poll revealing a majority do not have a problem with the campaign.

In the survey — conducted with 3,509 U.S. adults July 31-Aug. 1 — 52% of respondents said the ad’s use of wordplay is appropriate, while just 16% labeled it as inappropriate. About one-third, 32%, said they weren’t sure.

That said, there was a noticeable partisan divide on this question.

While the vast majority of Republicans, 64%, said the ad campaign was appropriate, less than half of Democrats and independents — 46% and 49%, respectively — said the same.

In contrast, 24% of Democrats said the campaign’s wordplay was inappropriate, while 14% of independents and just 10% of Republicans said the same.

The results were similar when respondents were asked if saying someone has “great genes” is appropriate or not.

A majority, 53%, said using this phrase is appropriate, while 15% said it is inappropriate, and 31% said they were not sure.

Here, again, there were substantial partisan differences, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Two-thirds of Republicans said the phrase is fine to use, while half of independents and 44% of Democrats agreed.

By comparison, 24% of Democrats labeled the phrase inappropriate. Fourteen percent of independents and 9% of Republicans said the same.

Respondents were also asked whether “all press is good press.”

The overwhelming majority, 73%, said they disagreed with this statement, while 10% said they agreed and 17% said they were not sure.

It comes after American Eagle’s stock price rose by roughly 25% on July 23, the day the ad campaign was announced, according to Rolling Stone. In more recent days, it has fallen.

This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Sydney Sweeney ad sparked controversy. Here’s what Americans think of it in poll."