Fact Check: Did American Eagle Respond to Controversial Sydney Sweeney Jeans Ad?

American Eagle recently captured the attention of social media users worldwide for all the wrong reasons. The clothing company received criticism from people due to its latest jeans ad campaign. The controversial ad became viral online after critics questioned its implicit racism.

Now, a post went viral online claiming to be the company’s response surrounding its controversial jeans ad, featuring Sydney Sweeney. Now the question is, did the clothing company release an official statement responding to the criticisms against its ad campaign? The truth is that the firm or its representatives never addressed the controversies surrounding the ad campaign.

The satirical post features an ad campaign photo of Sweeney with the statement, claiming to be published on the clothing company’s official website. It had the company name and logo on it, making it look more real. The post read as follows – “BREAKING: American Eagle has issued a response to the drama surrounding their add, including Sydney Sweeney!”

This is the Alleged Company Statement:

Meanwhile, TMZ released an article on Wednesday (July 30) with a response from the clothing company. The media outlet later updated the report, stating that it had wrongly attributed the company representative.

The news article, which began with the words — “American Eagle’s feeling good about its new Sydney Sweeney commercial” — had a quote attributing to the company’s spokesperson. The quote read as follows:

Shortly after publishing the article, TMZ updated it with the following statement:

The ad campaign, launched last week, features Sweeney in a head-to-toe denim look. It has along the lines — My genes are blue — and the tagline — Sydney Sweeney has great jeans. The ad received several criticisms online as an Instagram user pointed out that it will appeal to the male crowd. A few others accused the brand of promoting Nazi propaganda and eugenics.