Sydney Sweeney has broken her silence to defend herself against the criticism for her American Eagle jeans commercial.
The 28-year-old actress was targeted for her role in the ‘Great Jeans’ advertisement for the particular brand. Some critics have stated that the advertisement promoted her ‘white’ background and body. The actress revealed that she was taken aback by the negative comments targeting her.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction. I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. 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 told PEOPLE.
Sydney stated she wants to see “unity” and “kindness,” as she told PEOPLE: “Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness.”
“In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to see 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.”
After the ad was launched, the American Eagle outlet responded to the controversy on Instagram, saying:
“Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” is, and always has been, 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.”
Sweeney has declared that she isn’t going to allow others to define her. In a GQ magazine interview, she stated, “I did a jean ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans.”
“All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life… I knew at the end of the day what that ad was for, and it was great jeans, it didn’t affect me one way or the other.”
“I’ve always believed that I’m not here to tell people what to think. I know who I am. I know what I value. I know that I’m a kind person. I know that I love a lot, and I know that I’m just excited to see what happens next. And so I don’t really let other people define who I am.” Sweeney continued.
These remarks follow Sweeney’s string of four box-office flops in a row. These movies include Christy, in which she appeared. That film took in about $2 million on a $15 million budget. Sweeney appeared in the supporting cast of Madame Web. That movie was poorly reviewed but made a decent $100 million on a $80 million budget. Her last two films include the movie Americana. That movie took in less than a million dollars. She was also in Ron Howard’s Eden. That accounted for $2.8 million of the total $55 million budget. Sweeney hopes to turn her fortunes around in her new movie, ‘The Housemaid,’ to be released on December 19th.
