Sydney Sweeney addresses Trump weighing in on American Eagle jeans ad controversy

Actor finally addressed the backlash in a new interview with ‘GQ’

Sydney Sweeney has finally broken her silence on her controversial jeans ad.

The actor, 28, spoke for the first time about the backlash sparked by her American Eagle campaign in July after its wordplay with “jeans” and “genes” sparked a debate on race and beauty standards.

“I did a jean ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life,” Sweeney said in an interview with GQ published Tuesday.

Sweeney also said it was “surreal” that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance showed their support for her amid the backlash.

When pressed further for her thoughts about Trump praising her, Sweeney responded that she was not monitoring the situation closely.

Sydney Sweeney said it felt ‘surreal’ when Donald Trump defended her (Invision/AP)

Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans campaign sparked backlash in July over its wording (American Eagle)

“I kind of just put my phone away. I was filming every day. I’m filming Euphoria, so I’m working 16-hour days and I don’t really bring my phone on set, so I work and then I go home and I go to sleep. So I didn’t really see a lot of it,” she said.

Trump, 79, called Sweeney’s campaign the “hottest ad ever” after online voting records emerged to reveal the Euphoria star is registered as a Republican.

“She’s a registered Republican? Oh, now I love her ad,” Trump told reporters in August. “If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.”

Sweeney’s Anyone But You costar Glen Powell also recently spoke up in support of the actor.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Powell was asked why no one in Hollywood defended the actor publicly.

“I think people weighed in on it,” Powell argued; however, interviewer Marina Hyde disagreed, saying Sweeney was left to “twist in the wind.”

“But I think people are aware that it’s bulls***,” Powell said.

Asked if he tries to avoid public discourse because it may distract from his work, Powell responded: “You can’t get caught up in it — it has nothing to do with you, it has to do with ad dollars. And, you know, there is no course-correcting. If something’s false, you’re not actually setting the record straight, you’re just feeding the beast. That’s why I don’t say s*** — just let it come, and let it go. Not feeding the beast and not trying to fight anything. I’ve realised the smart people in Hollywood don’t try to fight anything that has nothing to do with them.”

Despite being offline, Sweeney said she was aware that American Eagle’s shares skyrocketed despite sales dropping after her ad.

When asked if she wanted to directly respond to why the ad was seen as divisive, Sweeney told GQ, “I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.”