The controversy over an American Eagle ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney has left critics apoplectic with rage but a poll reveals one group stands with her. Step forward the adults in the room.
Sweeney and American Eagle have been targeted after she appeared in the ad campaign for the brand which came with the play on words, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” with cries of both racism and eugenics used in the abuse, as Breitbart News reported.
According to online woke activists, the ad is somehow a dog whistle for Nazis driven by the actress who starred in Euphoria and The White Lotus.
Newsweek reports on the polling covering the response shows adults are simply happy to accept the ad campaign and its language without conditions, stating:
A YouGov poll conducted on August 1, 2025, surveyed 3,509 U.S. adults about the appropriateness of the wordplay in American Eagle’s Sydney Sweeney ad. Of the overall sample:
- 52 percent found the ad’s wordplay appropriate
- 16 percent deemed it inappropriate
- 32 percent were unsure
There was a noticeable partisan divide on this question. While the vast majority of Republicans, 64 percent, said the ad campaign was appropriate, less than half of Democrats and independents — 46 percent and 49 percent, respectively — said the same.
The YouGov poll provided respondents with three options: appropriate, inappropriate, or unsure. Polling was conducted online and segmented by gender, region, political affiliation, age, and race to ensure a representative sample.
More broadly speaking, the White House has also entered the controversy.
A display of actress Sydney Sweeney is seen on a window of an American Eagle store on August 01, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty)
As Breitbart News reported, speaking to a reporter on his way back to Washington from New Jersey on Sunday, President Donald Trump responded to rumors of Sweeney’s political affiliations being aligned with the GOP.
“That’s what I wouldn’t have known, but I’m glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic,” Trump said.
American Eagle’s stock has risen following the ad’s release. Sweeney has yet to publicly respond to the controversy.
