As Sydney Sweeney prepares to grace the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, her focus remains firmly on the spotlight, albeit one that shines brightly on her latest cinematic endeavor rather than denim dilemmas. The 27-year-old actress, in an exclusive preview with Vanity Fair published on September 4th, made it crystal clear that when she steps out for the world premiere of her boxing drama, Christy, on September 5th, conversations about her recent American Eagle jeans campaign controversy will not be part of the agenda.
"My presence there is solely to champion my film and the talented souls who brought it to life," Sweeney emphasized. "The narrative of Christy is what I am eager to share, not the hullabaloo surrounding jeans."
Indeed, Sweeney's American Eagle advertising campaign, titled "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans," which debuted in July, stirred a hornet's nest of controversy. Critics contended that the campaign cleverly played on the word "genes," hinting at eugenics—a divisive concept defined by the National Institute of Health as "selective breeding to enhance the human species." A video from the campaign, showcasing Sweeney musing on genes and jeans alike, with the line, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue," further fueled the uproar.
In an August 1st statement addressing the furor, American Eagle insisted that the campaign "has always been about the jeans" and affirmed that "great jeans flatter everyone."
Yet, the fallout from the controversy has cast a shadow over Sweeney's recent film releases, including Americana and Eden, two of the four movies she has starred in this year. (Her adaptation of the bestseller The Housemaid is set to hit theaters on December 19th.)
In Christy, Sweeney transforms into the formidable real-life boxer Christy Martin, a professional fighter who made her mark in the 1990s and 2000s and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020. Having trained in combat sports during her teenage years, Sweeney revealed to Vanity Fair that she gained over 30 pounds to embody Martin for the film, which also stars Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, Katy O'Brian, Chad L. Coleman, and Tony Cavalero.
"I was astounded by how little her story is known on a global scale," she expressed, her admiration for Martin evident. "She is undeniably one of the most courageous and inspiring women I've ever encountered."
