LOS ANGELES — Sydney Sweeney just set the record straight about the drama surrounding her American Eagle ad. She’s made it clear: she’s not a political figure, and she has no plans to dive into political debates.
Talking with Cosmopolitan for their January 29 issue, Sweeney opened up about the mess that exploded online after American Eagle rolled out its “Great Jeans” campaign last summer. People on social media went after her, accusing the ad of nodding to extremist symbols just because it highlighted her blond hair and blue eyes. Things only got louder when reports came out that she registered as a Republican back in June 2024, even though she rarely talks politics in public.
Sweeney said she’s never tried to be anyone’s political spokesperson. Her focus has always been acting that’s it. She feels like people keep trying to stick labels on her, usually without her having any say in it. At first, she stayed quiet, hoping things would calm down. Instead, that just gave everyone more room to make up their own stories.
She pushed back against the idea that hate drives anything she does, saying it’s tough to say anything these days without someone twisting it politically. Even when she tries to clear up rumors, it just seems to spark more criticism.
Now, Sweeney avoids reading most of what people say about her online. She says the nonstop speculation just isn’t healthy. She knows she can’t control what everyone thinks, but she’s not letting that distract her. She’s sticking to what she loves: acting in movies and TV, not getting dragged into political arguments.
