It’s been a minute since Sydney Sweeney stirred up the internet with that American Eagle ad, and, honestly, she hasn’t really spoken up about the backlash.
Still, the actress is not living under a rock as she knows exactly what people are saying about her brand deals.
Sydney Sweeney Addresses Bathwater-Infused Soap Line Backlash
In a recent chat with the Wall Street Journal, Sweeney talked about how she keeps tabs on all the online chatter. “You’ve gotta know what people are saying, everything’s a back-and-forth with the audience,” she said.
The Euphoria star has taken some heat lately, especially for that wild Dr. Squatch soap collab, yes, the one with her own bathwater mixed in.
That limited-run soap, “Bathwater Bliss,” was technically aimed at dudes, but Sweeney’s noticed it’s women who’ve had the loudest opinions.
Sydney Sweeney: They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater
Sydney Sweeney stated, “It was mostly girls commenting, which I thought was pretty interesting,” she said. She even brought up her Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi’s infamous Saltburn scene where Barry Keoghan’s character straight-up drinks Elordi’s bathwater. People lost their minds over that, and now you can actually buy a Jacob Elordi bathwater candle.
“They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater,” Sweeney said, raising an eyebrow at the double standard.
All this comes just a few weeks after she caught flak for that American Eagle campaign, where the ad played on the “good jeans” pun.
In the commercial, she says, “genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
Not everyone was amused. Some critics argued that highlighting a celebrity with blond hair and blue eyes in a “great jeans” spot veered way too close to eugenics territory, an ugly history that’s targeted marginalized groups in the US, including people of color, those with disabilities, and folks without money or power.
She should address why she’s a republican
— kitty (@kittylopher) August 20, 2025
Not her trying to switch this on other women when her whole existence is so male centered, especially maga men.
— hImU (@Himu_Art) August 20, 2025
comparing a real ad to something that happened in a movie is so weird as an actress, much less an actress that stars opposite of him?? 😭😭😂 I’m sure he doesn’t want to be dragged into this trumpie’s drama
— courtney (@spinninswift) August 20, 2025
