Sydney Sweeney’s sultry American Eagle campaign first made headlines for spurring a meme stock frenzy. Now, it’s kicking liberal commentators into high gear, with some accusing the retailer of promoting white supremacy. 

The 27-year-old bombshell actress’s collaboration with the American clothing company dropped last week under the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” and its initial launch sent hearts — and the company’s stock price — racing. 

Attention to the campaign only grew as the retailer rolled out promotional clips featuring the “Euphoria” actress traipsing around in an all-denim ensemble in varying levels of undress, at times partaking in quintessential Americana activities. In one clip, Ms. Sweeney cozies up to a German shepherd puppy; in another, she’s leaning over the hood of a white Mustang. 

The company began to take heat, however, as it shared ads that leveraged the wordplay of the campaign’s title. “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color,” the “Euphoria” actress says in one clip. The camera then pans up to her bright blue eyes before she utters: “My jeans are blue.” 

Another video shows Ms. Sweeney approaching a billboard of her campaign with a the slightly altered tagline, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Genes.” The camera follows Ms. Sweeney as she crosses out the word “Genes” and replaces it with “Jeans.” 

The clever wordplay ignited outrage among left-wing commentators and disgruntled customers who accused the retailer of evoking eugenics-era language and promoting white-supremacist ideals.

“Not-so-thinly-veiled white supremacy but let’s use sex appeal to soften the blow,” a marketing consultant, Bridget Poetker, wrote in a now-viral LinkedIn post. “Eugenics. racism. ableism,” she added. A brand strategist, Anastasia Kärklina Gabriel, called the campaign “one of the most outrageously racist marketing outputs I’ve seen in quite a while” and questioned “what can a blonde model with blue eyes talking about having ‘good blue jeans/genes’ signify in the current cultural climate?” 

On social media, American Eagle’s Instagram account has been inundated with negative comments, with some consumers pledging to boycott the company. “Never shopping at AE again,” one user commented on a recent post by the retailer. “It’s giving ‘Subtle 1930’s Germany,’” another wrote under the same post. Both comments have received thousands of likes. 

The controversy was picked up by an MSNBC producer, Hannah Holland, who mused in an op-ed, “Advertisements are always mirrors of society, and sometimes what they reflect is ugly and startling.” In this case, Ms. Sweeney’s ad “shows an unbridled cultural shift toward whiteness,” she argues.  

The advertisement — which centers around a conventionally attractive white woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slim build and incorporates quintessential Americana imagery — represents a marked shift from American Eagle’s past campaigns, which tended to emphasize physical and racial diversity. 

Not everyone is up in arms, however. For some consumers, the advertisement’s unabashed rejection of wokeness is precisely what makes the campaign so appealing. 

“I love the new Sydney Sweeney ads for American Eagle. Normal hot girls are BACK!” a comedian and influencer, Nicole Arbour, said in celebration on X. She mused that “the world is healing.” 

And another: “Here’s Sydney Sweeney. Possibly the most American girl-next-door model of the past decade. The Left are calling her a “Nazi” because….she exists and is white,” one user wrote on X. “F*** Leftists. Support American Eagle.” The post has received 38,000 likes and counting. 

Others, like a former Fox News commentator, Megyn Kelly, poked fun at critics for boosting the campaign’s reach. “I love how the leftist meltdown over the Sydney Sweeney ad has only resulted in a beautiful white blonde girl with blue eyes getting 1000x the exposure for her ‘good genes,’” she wrote. 

The backlash has had little impact on the company’s stock price, which has surged 21 percent since the campaign dropped last week. The stock markets initial response to the collaboration was so positive that analysts speculated that American Eagle stock may become the next meme stock sensation. 

Neither the company nor the actress has yet to comment on the controversy.