Joondeph: Woke critics fumbled while American Eagle cashed in
By Dr. Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker
When American Eagle launched its fall campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney with the cheeky tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” the expected outrage frenzy was immediate.
In the ad, the 27-year-old actress says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
YouTube screengrab // fair use
It’s a pun, a play on the words genes and jeans, as even the Los Angeles Times acknowledged.
Critics accused the spot of echoing eugenic or white supremacist rhetoric because Sweeney is blonde, blue-eyed, and framed as genetically “blue.” Some even labeled it “Nazi propaganda." ...


![FD863768-0ACF-495E-9D21-2EF784DFFA6B[1]](https://rockymountainvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/FD863768-0ACF-495E-9D21-2EF784DFFA6B1-300x300.png)