American Eagle Outfitters defended its new denim marketing drive featuring Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney after the campaign’s word-play tagline, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” drew allegations that it flirted with eugenics and white-supremacist messaging. The film, released 23 July, opens with the words “great genes” before Sweeney strikes out the final letter to read “jeans,” a deliberate pun that critics said echoed rhetoric about genetic ‘purity’. Following nearly a week of mounting criticism from commentators, media outlets and several advocacy groups, the retailer issued an Instagram statement on 1 August saying the promotion "always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story." The company added that it would continue to “celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence” and highlighted a limited-edition “Sydney Jean,” with all proceeds benefiting the mental-health charity Crisis Text Line. The row quickly spilled into national politics and corporate culture wars. President Donald Trump told Newsmax the ad was “doing very well,” while Vice-President J.D. Vance mocked Democrats for labeling admirers of the actress “Nazis.” Tesla joined the fray with a tongue-in-cheek social-media post about its car-seat robot’s “great jeans.” American Eagle shares have whipsawed during the debate—rising roughly 10% after the campaign debuted, adding about $200 million in market value, before slipping around 2% on Friday as the brand’s response circulated.