Gabby Windey is not impressed with Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle jeans ad.
“I just watched the Sydney Sweeney ad, well, the one on her Instagram, which is apparently mild compared to everything else,” the former Bachelorette, 34, said in a Tuesday, July 29, TikTok video. “We’ve all seen the commentary, and yes, it’s terrifying.”
In addition to acknowledging the public backlash that the ad has received, Windey pointed out another alleged issue with the campaign.
“But also in the ad, they do a close-up ass shot, and she’s not filling out the jeans. She doesn’t have that good of jeans,” she claimed. “These jeans are doing nothing for her ass. G-E-N-E or J-E-A-N, either one. So I beg to differ [on] the whole thing.”
Why Sydney Sweeney’s 'Great Jeans' American Eagle Ad Is Facing Backlash
Sweeney’s partnership with American Eagle went live nearly one week ago and sparked immediate controversy. Many users online claimed that the brand was over-sexualizing Sweeney, 27, and accused the company of promoting eugenics. (Eugenics is the belief of improving the genetic quality of a human population. The nonscientific practice was used in doctrines created by the Nazis.)
The video, which has since gone viral, began with a camera zooming in on Sweeney’s chest as she seductively addressed the camera.
“My body’s composition is determined by my genes,” Sweeney said. “Hey, eyes up here.”
The clip cut to the ad’s tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”
An additional video showed Sweeney continuing the play on words with “jeans” and “genes.”
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” the Euphoria star said, referring to the color of both her pants and eyes.
American Eagle has since removed the videos from their social media pages. Sweeney has not publicly addressed the backlash.
Us Weekly previously reached out to American Eagle and Sydney Sweeney’s rep for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Sweeney’s American Eagle ad was compared to Brooke Shields’ infamous 1980s Calvin Klein ad that also highlighted genetics in its messaging.
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“Genes are fundamental in determining the characteristics of an individual and passing on these characteristics to succeeding generations,” Shields, who was 15 at the time of filming, said in the commercial. “Occasionally, certain conditions produce a structural change in a gene which will bring about the process of evolution. This may occur in one or more of the following ways: first, by selective mating in which a single gene type proves superior in transmitting its genes to future generations. Secondly, by gene drift, in which certain genes may fade away while other genes persist.”
Shields spoke out about the backlash her Calvin Klein ad received four decades later.
“I didn’t think it was about underwear or sexual in nature,” Shields told Vogue in 2021. “What was shocking to me was to be berated by ‘Oh, you knew this was happening. This is what you thought. You were thinking these thoughts.’ I was a kid, and where I was, I was naive. I was a very protected, sequestered, young woman in a bubble. I think the assumption was that I was much more savvy than I ever really was.”