American Eagle's fall denim campaign, starring actress Sydney Sweeney with the tagline "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," has sparked significant controversy. What began as a playful pun on "jeans" and "genes" quickly drew accusations of tone-deafness and racial insensitivity, escalating into a widely debated celebrity-brand collaboration.

• The campaign launched on July 23, 2025, with a video garnering over 20 million views on X by July 24.
• Critics on platforms like X, TikTok, Threads, and Reddit flagged the "great genes" pun, coupled with Sweeney’s appearance, as uncomfortably reminiscent of eugenic rhetoric.
• The controversy, including comments from U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, ironically led to a 10% to 16% surge in American Eagle's stock value.