Sydney Sweeney finally answers if she was ‘thankful’ for Donald Trump’s public support while she battled controversy

Sydney Sweeney has finally addressed the firestorm surrounding her American Eagle jeans campaign and the very public support she received from President Trump. The Euphoria actress opened up during a recent cover story interview with GQ, breaking her silence on both the controversial ad and the resulting political commentary.

The interviewer didn’t pull any punches, immediately asking how she felt about President Trump praising the denim campaign back in August. Sweeney’s initial reaction was pretty simple, calling the whole thing “surreal” while smiling.

The conversation got a lot trickier, though, when she was asked if she felt “thankful” that such a powerful figure “had [her] back in public.” That’s definitely a high-pressure question, and her answer was a little evasive. She responded, “Hm, I don’t think that … it’s not that I didn’t have that feeling but I wasn’t thinking of it like that, of any of it.” That is strange, when it broke in news outlets worldwide. She likely is just trying to avoid the questioning.

Sydney Sweeney doesn’t want to think about her ‘great’ jeans

We need to remember why this ad was such a huge deal in the first place. Over the summer, Sweeney made headlines because some claimed the American Eagle campaign promoted what they called “Nazi propaganda.” This severe accusation stemmed from the ad’s specific messaging and a confusing use of wordplay.

In the ad, the actress, who has striking blonde hair and blue eyes, discussed how “genes” passed down from parents often determine traits such as “hair color, personality and even eye color.” She then wrapped up the video by looking straight at the camera and stating, “My jeans are blue.” People immediately jumped on the wordplay between “genes” and “jeans,” which is a pretty awful connotation for a clothing campaign, especially given the context of her appearance.

Despite the massive backlash, Sweeney insists she was totally surprised by the mixed reaction to the denim campaign. She just couldn’t believe the level of controversy it generated. She tried to simplify the entire situation, stating matter-of-factly, “I did a jean ad.”

Her explanation for taking the job was also pretty relatable: she just genuinely loves denim. “All I wear are jeans,” she gushed. “I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt like every day of my life.” That’s a top-tier justification for signing up to promote jeans, if you ask me.

She also explained how she managed to stay so calm during the controversy. She said she was filming the third and final season of Euphoria and was working ridiculously long hours. She shared that she was “working like 16-hour days” and wasn’t carrying her phone around on set, so she wasn’t checking social media. She admitted she “didn’t really see a lot of it,” because she had “put [her] phone away.” It sounds like a perfect strategy for surviving a celebrity scandal, even if it was unintentional.

President Trump was one of the few high-profile figures who publicly supported the ad when it was getting mocked by other celebrities like Lizzo and Doja Cat. After the backlash started, he told reporters that the ad was “fantastic.” The president also noted that he was happy to hear that Sweeney was a “registered Republican.”

It seems like Sweeney is trying to steer clear of the political drama moving forward. This is probably the smartest move when you’re a star in one of the biggest shows on television.