The online MAGAverse is infatuated with Sydney Sweeney, a rising star in Hollywood whose “great jeans” American Eagle tagline became a controversy - one that conservatives have enjoyed highlighting.
The affair with Sweeney and the GOP didn’t necessarily start with the jeans ad, though the photo shoots of the denim-clad actress were widely seen by Republicans as being unapologetically American and rejecting liberal sensibilities about beauty and inclusivity.
After some liberal detractors took issue with her ad, MAGA media influencers and other conservative media outlets amplified the story, which played well to audiences focused on “owning the libs.”
Vice President Vance last week positioned criticism of the slogan as emblematic of the shortcomings of Democrats.
“You have, like, a normal, all-American, beautiful girl doing, like, a normal jeans ad. They’re trying to sell jeans to kids in America,” Vance said in a podcast appearance. “The lesson they [Democrats] have apparently taken is, 'We’re going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful.' Great strategy, guys.”
No major Democratic officeholders had weighed in on the issue. Rather, the criticism appeared to come from online observers whose commentary rocketed to virality, so it’s far from clear whether there is any kind of organized strategy behind criticisms of the American Eagle ad.
But that mattered little given the politics of the situation.
Sweeney has long been a subject of fascination among some of the right, and after it emerged that she is reportedly a registered Republican in Florida, the idea of her being a Hollywood avatar of the right reached new heights, to such an extent that it earned the attention of President Trump.
“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier this week. “Go get ‘em Sydney!”
There are clear reasons why Sweeney is an attraction for Trump and others on the right, particularly in the context of the ad campaign.
Regardless of Sweeney’s real politics, the “great jeans” slogan was a perfect riff for Republicans and Trump allies to make statements about American pride.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who is running for governor in South Carolina, wrote on the social platform X that “Nancy Mace for Governor has great jeans,” alongside her wearing short skinny jeans and aiming an assault rifle. Former President Reagan’s official library, Tesla, the Department of Defense and cryptocurrency platform Solana were among the others who jumped on the slogan.
In a statistic that likely showcases the popularity of the story with its viewers, Fox News mentioned Sweeney and her ad 766 times over the course of the week, according to a tally from CNN’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter. The Sweeneymania dwarfed the mere 53 mentions of Jeffrey Epstein, a storyline from which the president has sought to redirect eyeballs.
Republicans are also often on the lookout for A-list celebrities that show signs of backing the GOP brand.
Democrats have long had an easier time drawing that kind of support from the music industry and Hollywood. Witness the celebrities that came out in force for former Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s presidential contest, from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio.
If Sweeney is a Republican and is sending implicit signals through the American Eagle advertisement, it’s a clear culture war win for Republicans.
Gabriel Rossman, a sociologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, chalked up much of the GOP fixation on Sweeney to “negative polarization.”
“If the opposition hates it, then we love it,” he said. “It’s a slightly dated line: It triggers the libs.”
The question of what is real and what isn’t real is a mystery, one that might not hurt a Hollywood star.
The “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus” star has been reserved about her political beliefs.
She hasn’t commented on the American Eagle campaign, although the company released a statement saying the tagline “is and always was about the jeans.”
Sweeney’s representation did not respond to a request for comment.
There are clear reasons for her to stay away from the topic. Especially in the internet age, “clarifying” political statements by celebrities has often only fanned the flames of discourse.
Sweeney wants Republicans and Democrats to go to her movies and purchase the products she endorses.
Steve Granelli, a professor at Northeastern University studying pop culture, cited Michael Jordan’s famous line about why he was reluctant to wade into politics: “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”
This isn’t the first time Sweeney has found herself at the center of a political discussion.
She’s previously been the subject of online think-piecing about being a symbol for conservatives.
After hosting “Saturday Night Live” in 2024, several conservative commentators seized on her - and her appearance - as evidence that “inclusive” beauty standards were finally dead.
“Are Sydney Sweeney’s breasts double-D harbingers of the death of woke?” Amy Hamm, a columnist for the National Post, asked last spring.
Richard Hanania, a popular right-wing online personality, then posted a video of Sweeney’s SNL outro, where she wears a dress with a plunging neckline.
“Wokeness is dead,” he wrote last year.
On X this week, Hanania claimed a culture war victory for the right.
“It looks like I memed into reality the biggest Republican celebrity recruit in years,” he wrote.
Source: The Hill - News