The Sydney Sweeney-American Eagle ad has turned into a full-blown culture war moment, and now even the White House is weighing in. After days of heated online debate, Steven Cheung, President Donald Trump’s communications director, jumped into the fray on Tuesday night, blasting what he called “cancel culture run amok.”
Cheung was responding to an MSNBC headline suggesting that Sweeney’s ad promoted a racial “shift toward whiteness.” He reposted it with a cutting caption that left little doubt about where he stands. “Cancel culture run amok,” he wrote. “This warped, moronic, and dense liberal thinking is a big reason why Americans voted the way they did in 2024. They’re tired of this bulls—.”
The controversy started when TikTok users pointed out that the new American Eagle spot looked eerily similar to a famous 1980 Calvin Klein ad featuring a teenage Brooke Shields. Some viewers kept it light, saying the resemblance was almost too obvious, while others went much further. A vocal group accused the ad of pushing eugenics, arguing that the slogan “great jeans” plays on the homophone “great genes” was a dog whistle for racial superiority.
That interpretation blew up online, with critics slamming the ad as everything from “Nazi propaganda” to “fascist-weird.” Activist Zellie Imani, who describes himself as “All Black Everything” on X, took it further by calling the campaign “a love letter to White nationalism and eugenic fantasies, and Sydney Sweeney knew it.”
Not everyone agreed. The backlash triggered its own round of outrage from conservatives, who dismissed the criticism as absurd. Texas Senator Ted Cruz weighed in on X with a swipe at the left. “Wow. Now the crazy Left has come out against beautiful women — I’m sure that will poll well,” he said, reported Fox News.
Donald Trump Jr. also couldn’t resist joining in, trolling the controversy on Instagram. He posted an AI-generated parody of the ad that replaced Sweeney with his father and captioned it with a twist on Owen Wilson’s famous line from Zoolander: “Hanse – Um, Donald is so hot right now.”
With top Republicans and the Trump family backing Sweeney, some commentators say this might mark a shift in the cultural tide. They argue the right hasn’t had this kind of momentum in mainstream cultural battles for decades. Others have linked it to the broader media shakeups, like CBS’s decision to axe The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Meanwhile, American Eagle is standing firm behind its campaign and its star. The company has said that proceeds from sales of the jeans will support the Crisis Text Line, which helps victims of domestic violence. In a statement, American Eagle & Aerie president and creative director Jennifer Foyle defended the creative direction.
“This fall season, American Eagle is celebrating what makes our brand iconic – trendsetting denim that leads, never follows,” she said. “Innovative fits and endless versatility reflect how our community wears their denim: mixed, matched, layered and lived in. With Sydney Sweeney front and center, she brings the allure, and we add the flawless wardrobe for the winning combo of ease, attitude and a little mischief.”
What started as a fashion campaign has turned into the latest cultural lightning rod in America — and with politicians, activists, and even the president’s family now weighing in, the debate shows no signs of cooling down.