“The criticism of the content was basically that, maybe specifically in this political climate, white people shouldn’t joke about genetic superiority.”
That’s how GQ reporter Katherine Stoeffel recently summarized the controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans ad—in which the actress, swathed in denim, schooled us in genetics. Stoeffel was interviewing Sweeney, who is the cover girl of the magazine this month and on the press tour for her new movie, Christy. The journalist said she wanted to give the actress an “opportunity” to respond to the idea that, by saying “genes are passed down from parents to offspring,” while zipping up her pants, she was giving white nationalists a wink.
Sweeney did not take that opportunity. “I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear,” she said. Cue another meta-media meltdown. People are aghast that she hasn’t apologized for how other people interpreted the ad.
