Digital Phablet – Doja Cat mocks Sydney Sweeney over controversial “great jeans” campaign online.
You might have seen the buzz online over Sydney Sweeney’s latest American Eagle advertisements in recent days. If you’re just catching up, here’s a quick overview:
The new campaign features Sydney Sweeney with the slogan “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” a clever twist on the phrase “great genes.” Plenty of images and videos are circulating on AE’s social platforms, but we’ll focus on the ones generating the most criticism.
In one clip, the camera zooms in closely on Sydney’s chest. She states, “My genes determine my body’s makeup,” then jokes that her eyes are “up here.” In another scene, Sydney is lying on the ground, shirt off, wearing jeans. The camera traces her body as she explains, “Genes are inherited from your parents and can influence things like eye color, personality, and hair color,” she says. “My jeans are blue,” she adds to the camera.
Following significant backlash—some critiques labeled the ads as overly sexualized, and others noticed that the clip of her slipping into her jeans seemed to echo a highly controversial 1980 Calvin Klein ad with Brooke Shields, who was only 15 at the time—many of these videos have since been removed from AE’s social media.
Additionally, there’s been considerable criticism about the focus on Sydney’s “great genes,” which many interpret as implying eugenic ideas linked to selective breeding to improve human genetics. This has sparked heated discussions online.
On TikTok, some amusing comments poke fun at Sydney’s voice in the videos. She appears to slur her words with heavy vocal fry, which has become a viral trend. Doja Cat has also jumped on this trend, sharing a clip of herself mockingly reading Sydney’s dialogue with a Southern accent, captioned “My jeans are bleh.”
The parody videos have elicited humorous responses, with one comment joking, “It’s bad when even Doja makes fun of it,” and another quipping, “My jeans are wet because I just peed my pants.”
Moreover, a significant portion of criticism addresses the intense media focus on Sydney’s appearance as a blonde, blue-eyed white woman, with some interpreting this as echoing problematic ideas about “good genes,” often associated with eugenicist rhetoric aimed at enhancing the human race through selective breeding.
The online reactions have become very chaotic, especially on TikTok, where users have fun imitating Sydney’s voice or creating their own playful takes. The trend has even extended to other celebrities, like Doja Cat, who have joined in the parody moments.
For reference: Instagram post, shared by Viral Pop.
In conclusion, this campaign and its surrounding media storm highlight ongoing debates about beauty standards, ethical marketing, and racial sensitivities in advertising, igniting conversations across social platforms.
