Let’s start with Beyoncé. The 43-year-old superstar just dropped another stunning denim-on-denim campaign with Levi’s, rocking a plunging gem-studded jacket, form-fitting jeans, strappy heels, and a Marilyn Monroe-inspired blonde wig. Add some gold grills and a red lip, and you’ve got peak pop icon energy — effortlessly blending glam and grit in a way only Beyoncé can.
But the timing of the release — and the aesthetic — pulled her straight into a very different denim drama.
Just days before, actress Sydney Sweeney found herself at the center of a bizarre cultural firestorm over her new American Eagle campaign. Why? Because of a pun. The tagline? “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.” Cute, right? Not to some.
Critics jumped all over it, accusing the campaign of dog-whistling eugenics and white supremacy, claiming the wordplay between jeans and genes, paired with Sydney’s blonde hair and blue eyes, was a “racialized” message. Salon even called it “tone-deaf.” One viral post referred to it as “modern-day Nazi propaganda.” Another said it “felt like 1930s Germany.” No, seriously.
Some critics pointed to ad copy that mentioned traits “passed down from parent to offspring,” and a line from Sydney herself in the video: “My genes are blue.” Toss in a few close-ups and wide-eyed narration, and suddenly — according to TikTokers and hot takes — it was all about eugenics.
But here’s the thing: it’s jeans. It’s a pun. It’s also a stretch. And backlash to the backlash came just as fast.
Many fans — and frankly, people with a grip on reality — jumped to Sydney’s defense, calling the controversy “unhinged” and “a reach of Olympic proportions.” One post nailed the mood: “It’s a denim campaign, not a manifesto.” Another added: “Not every blonde with blue eyes is a Nazi. Some of you need a history book — and a nap.”
Beyoncé’s campaign, which carries some aesthetic parallels (denim-on-denim, platinum-blonde styling, body-forward visuals), was swept into the conversation — but without controversy. Why? Because her campaign made no mention of genetics, family trees, or anything that even tiptoed toward the idea. It was just Beyoncé being Beyoncé: powerful, poised, and polished.
Some tried to draw comparisons. Others shut it down fast. Beyoncé’s campaign was pure fashion. Sweeney’s? A creative risk that hit the culture tripwire and detonated.
American Eagle stood by Sydney, saying the tagline “has always been about the jeans — her jeans, her story.” But even with their defense, the moment became a case study in how quickly branding, aesthetics, and internet outrage can turn a mall-brand denim ad into a culture war flashpoint.
