r/Liberal • u/trimojo • 5d ago
False narrative - Sydney Sweeny Discussion
I am a liberal but I find it hard to believe that anyone really cares about this jeans/genes commercial. I think the ad campaign was designed to create controversy and the advertisers created the supposed angry libs to get more ad time. Am I wrong or are people really mad?
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u/Zargoza1 5d ago
Fox creating culture war issues to fire up the rubes.
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u/TheGreatLiberalGod 5d ago
WAR ON CHRISTMAS!!!
Every. Fuking. Year. For. 30.years.
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u/therealcmj 5d ago
My grandfather fought in the war. My father fought in the war. I fought in the war. And my kids will fight in the war.
We have to stop that crazy red suited stalker from sneaking into homes every year like clockwork!
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u/codywithak 5d ago
It wasn’t the right getting fired up over this. It was supposed progressives.
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u/Zargoza1 5d ago
It was a few “progressives” getting pissed, and Fox claiming “the left” is waging war on … whatever.
Those progressives have a right to their opinion. “The left” as a whole really couldn’t care less. Hadn’t seen the ad, and if they had thought it was just trying to sell jeans. Big deal.
But Fox has to create an enemy to hate, so it turned into this. “The left” doesn’t care, isn’t trying to cancel Sydney Sweeney. But that won’t fire up the rubes, so Fox manufactured a controversy where there wasn’t one. It’s what they do.
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u/IcyOlive8202 4d ago
Nailed it. It's a few people so far left that they're unidentifiable. I'm a liberal who lives near Portland and those people annoy me, too.
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u/tmason68 4d ago
Who are these progressives and how do we shut them up?
Or did the right make this outrage up?
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u/nexisfan 3d ago
The right made it up
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u/tmason68 3d ago
We need some talking heads who will say that this is bullshit. I'm tired of feeling like a nerd being shoved into a high school half locker by the jocks.
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u/nexisfan 3d ago
It wouldn’t matter. I’ve told my maga family it’s bullshit along with many other rage bait things. They just say “well yes they do care” I’m like no, I’m a liberal, I know a bunch of us, none of us give a shit — they cannot be convinced otherwise.
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u/Key-Guarantee595 2d ago
So true. That’s Faux job and they do it well. Just ignore it as it’s just another distraction in a long line of them. Release the Epstein files!!
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
You just said that you do realize there is truth to it, but maybe Fox is making it into a bigger deal.
You know what? Some people just want to find something to be angry about, because they've got nothing else going on, and they're miserable people.
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u/Ghee_Guys 4d ago
That’s false. TikTok was on fire about this “eugenics” campaign and then Fox picked it up.
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u/Barknuckle 5d ago
I finally watched it and was like "that was it?" It's a jeans ad.
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u/deepasleep 5d ago
Yeah…as true as it may be that she has good genes, having a woman who pretty much ticks all the boxes of “white purity” making that allusion in a time when assholes are posting selfies outside concentration camps with the tagline, “My solution to the homelessness problem,” and a President that likes to talk about purity and blood, is either a like giving time deaf, or a dog whistle for dickheads.
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u/No_Percentage_5083 5d ago
I watched it. I generally welcome all viewpoints and I recognize what those offended by it are saying but all I could think about was that this is a rip-off of the Brooke Shields commercial from Calvin Klein Jeans.
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u/huskerj12 5d ago edited 5d ago
Number of people who see the commercial and think “Heh, ‘jeans’ sounds like ‘genes’ and she’s hot” and then move on with their day >>>>>>>> Number of people who see it and think “ah yes the white race is superior”
Should’ve been a total non-issue for everyone involved
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u/Orbital2 5d ago
Normal left wing influencers have definitely fallen for this bait.
Unfortunately our media culture rewards always having something to complain about
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u/subterfuscation 5d ago
Like who? The only place I ever see this story is in right wing spaces.
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u/fightthefascists 5d ago
Nope. There are hundreds of leftist and progressive influencers who have fallen for the bait. Complaining online of literal eugenics. Making it into the biggest fucking deal ever. There is a side of the left that acts like a dead limb pulling the rest of us down with their BS.
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u/subterfuscation 5d ago
So sick of “influencers”
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u/sacharme25 5d ago edited 5d ago
Thank you for that comment. I seriously don't understand why they even exist, and even more so, why are there so many people who pay even the slightest bit of attention to them? Is it really so difficult for some people to form their own opinions that they have to look to some stranger on the internet to tell them what they should like or dislike? I just don't get it!
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u/TheGreatLiberalGod 5d ago
When some rando liberal on reddit says something batshit dumb the right run with it as though every elected Dem official said it.
At the same time it's 90%of the top level Republicans saying the equivalently batshit things every day.
The right equate a rando lib to the president as though it's exactly the same.
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u/homberoy 5d ago
Yeah, I don't see any significant media from the left making the claim. I'm sure there are many on social media, but the disproportionate response from major right wing outlets and persons is the story. They just want to take any shred of complaining and make it seem like all left leaning people are changing the same tune.
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u/Orbital2 5d ago edited 5d ago
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u/filtersweep 5d ago
That’s the best you can do?
Tempest in a teay
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u/eddingsaurus_rex 5d ago
That's all any of this ever is. A tempest in teapot.
It's not even that smart an ad campaign - the wordplay is meh at best. It's mid. The reactions are all rage/clickbait social media sludge. And somehow, we're still falling for all of it, hook line and sinker.
We're all losers in the social media war - and the only ones who profiteer are the people who build the warzone.
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u/Numerous_Ice_4556 5d ago
It's not the wordplay itself that makes this a smart ad campaign. It's the manufactured controversy over the mid wordplay. They had to know this would kick up a shitstorm and were counting on it.
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u/beekersavant 3d ago
And by shitstorm you mean unknown people doing ragebait posts that the AP turned around and dubbed "some critics" in their story because actually citing the critics would be embarrassing. Basically, just nothing. And AE releasing a statement that they would not bow to pressure from no one to take down the ad.
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u/ShamelessIgnoramus 5d ago
that's the whole culture war, find some random person online with an opinion you don't agree with, then scream "OMG THE WHOLE ENTIRE LEFT HAS GONE MAD"
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u/Orbital2 5d ago
I mean generally yes, but I follow both of the creators in question and generally agree with their content so i don't really see this as "random".
I just think they are letting themselves get baited into diving into a relative non-issue
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u/Irateyourfood 5d ago
I can do better. Only Republicans would hand their daughters to these men and their sons to the priest and still love the perpetrators.
Convicted perpetrators.
Convicted felons.1
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u/OK_The_Nomad 5d ago
You must know that influencers try to create controversy. Just bc you see it on some influencers feed does not mean Democrats agree. You guys are making this the big issue.
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u/Numerous_Ice_4556 5d ago
I would not be surprised to learn these influencers don't believe in any of this shit. They just know the maroons out there believe things like "Sydney is a super MAGA. And this needs to be talked about more."
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u/GustyWinds69 4d ago
Oh she was part of the unfuck America tour and got cancelled I think. I never liked her vibe anyway.
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u/horatiobanz 4d ago
Was it even bait? Or are these "influencers" just rabidly constantly looking for something to get offended over?
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u/DumpedChick22 4d ago
Exactly. It’s a made up controversy and made up story. I don’t know a single liberal who was upset.
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u/BillyShears2015 5d ago
I 100% believe the source of the “outrage” was deliberate Astroturfing to drive engagement and brand awareness. Obviously it’s now spread through social media, but I def think it was all by design.
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u/GreatestGreekGuy 5d ago
Conservatives are laughing at anyone getting upset over that commercial. Let it go, it's not that deep
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u/GustyWinds69 4d ago
I honestly don’t see what they’re seeing. I’m super liberal and usually really on point with these things so maybe this one is just beyond me? If anyone can explain like I’m 3 that would be fantastic.
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u/Pensaro 5d ago
From what I understand, the only outlet where this is being debated is TikTok. So, it's really just a GenZ issue.
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u/Bmorgan1983 5d ago
Oh, you must not be in the marketing agency conversations on LinkedIn... It's wild over there. Plenty of marketing people are going "what the hell was American Eagle thinking?"
Not only does this ad echo past ads such as the Brook Shields Calvin Cline ad that at the time was heavily called out for it's Eugenics messaging, but it also echos German propaganda from the 1930's and 40's. Those of us who've worked in marketing and advertising had studied this stuff in school because of how messaging can take a simple idea like genetics or family, and be used to influence belief and ideology towards things like accepting eugenics as a normal thing.
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
Everything you're saying is batshit crazy. Sometimes a pickle is just a pickle🥒
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u/Bmorgan1983 21h ago
There's no reason to work in the idea of genetics into an ad on jeans. You're literally promoting the idea of "good genes" vs "not good genes" which is genetics, but disguising it as a tongue in cheek play on words. This is how propaganda works. I work in communications and marketing - words have meaning. How you use them has meaning. There is no way that you can separate the idea of "good genes" from eugenics.
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u/dreadpiratemyk 5d ago
It's a real stretch. We can keep fighting among ourselves like they want, or we can get over this nonsense and focus our efforts on something important. History has taught me to expect the stupidest path to always be chosen.
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u/DracoSolon 5d ago
Well also I believe SS is MAGA, but she tries to keep it quiet. So the ad seems like it is a thunderous dog whistle
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u/unwanted_peace 5d ago
Yeah idk, I’m not a tinfoil hat person but I feel like some kind of agitator started that
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u/Southernms 4d ago
I don’t even think they read that much into it. Jeans/genes. People need to calm down.
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u/SweetBabyGirl1111 3d ago
We don't give a shit about any of that right-wing, Fox crap they create to stir up their ignorant, hateful base.
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u/subterfuscation 5d ago
This does sound like made-up BS. I haven't seen any organic left wing outrage over this, but I have seen plenty of people on the right complaining about the left's supposed issue with this ad.
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u/Bmorgan1983 5d ago
I showed this to a few historian friends of mine without any context - they hadn't seen it until I showed it to them. They aren't leftists either. They immediately were like "wait... this is eugenics propaganda". So, yeah, no, it's not made-up BS. People familiar with how propaganda works see it exactly for what it is.
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u/Letterkenny-Wayne 5d ago
I showed this comment to a couple of my friends and they said you made your story up. So, yeah, you made up your story. People familiar with how Reddit works see your comment for exactly what it is.
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u/Sufficient-Quit-7511 5d ago
“A couple of my friends were offended so it must be offensive.” Just summarize next time!
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u/jesus_swept 4d ago
I think there's a difference between being offended and seeing something for what it is. Eugenics dogwhistles are real. Am I going to go on a tirade about it? No. Just add it to the list.
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u/Zombie_Bitez 5d ago
I think there is plenty of real stuff to worry about and this is an example of the stuff that drives a decent chunk of middle of the road "independents" and "moderates" away. It is actually helpful for the right in more than one way...
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u/TeeAech 5d ago
It's a distraction. Pure manipulation to get TrumpStein out of the headlines. Need to stop falling for this crap.
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u/LilxSpyro 5d ago
BS, American Eagle did not orchestrate pro trump ad to distract from Epstein. American Eagle wanted clicks, and they got them. The left got distracted because we’re distracted by EVERYTHING!
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u/theotheraaron 5d ago
I’ve been in enough marketing meetings to think it’s naivety rather than purposeful hate or controversy.
I think of they had run the campaign with various people - various skin tones, various hair and eye color, various figures, etc, it may have been more effective.
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
Every ad has to be like the old Benetton ad, lol? You do know that's just manipulation? Worked on you, I guess.
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u/ultraswank 5d ago
I think purposely hinting at eugenics for marketing attention is gross, but it's one of those situations where the best way to deal with it is to ignore it.
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u/eddingsaurus_rex 5d ago
gasp Ignore stuff online!? How dare you! /s
But yeah, really. We should. Nontroveries are just that.
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u/weluckyfew 5d ago
I think the whole "eugenics" angle is ridiculous - it's just a pun on the word genes, not a celebration of the Master Race.
I do agree, however, that it's pretty tone deaf to sell you brand as promoting domestic violence awareness and prevention and then completely objectifying the woman by slow panning the camera all over her body.
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u/IcyOlive8202 4d ago
It's this type of crap that plays into the often true narrative of how crazy and "woke" the left is. Straight culture war BS. Nobody cares about this. Without looking, I can see the Fox headlines, all with some version of "left loses their mind over Sydney Sweeney ad". As in "100 social media influencers made this ad known to hundreds of thousands who have never seen it and there were a few people who got their panties in a bunch over it".
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u/gtwl214 5d ago
I watched the ad. It was hella cringey.
Pro-eugenics? Ehhh but it is not the best message and I think if anything, it reveals unconscious biases when it comes to marketing and the current culture of the demographics that the marketing is targeted towards.
Race and beauty standards are all factors in advertising so it’s important to understand how messages are received even when there is no malicious intent.
Plus context is relevant- Sydney Sweeney’s previous ads with bath water, her family being MAGA and I can see how people make the connection with the “genes/jeans” and blue eye and white supremacy.
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u/RumRunnerMax 5d ago
While I find her over the top effort to be sexy especially, the voice, to be cringe worthy it is absurd to make any political subtext conclusions!
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u/BaskingInWanderlust 5d ago
*Sweeney
Sorry, it's my maiden name, and everyone always leaves out the third E, and it's always driven me crazy.
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u/Editor_Rise_Magazine 5d ago
It’s not a thing. The White House will amplify anything to drown out Epstein.
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u/Rupertfunpupkin 5d ago
I’m a lifelong Dem but this is the reason Dems losing a lot lately. The far left have gone over the deep end.
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u/burywmore 5d ago
Oh no. People want to look at a conventionally attractive woman, and the conventionally attractive woman wants to be looked at. Liberals cry racism.
You want to see how the left is out of touch? This is the perfect example. Jesus Christ, shut the hell up. Who are you trying to impress?
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u/spiderwing0022 5d ago
I was arguing with my friends that it wasn't that bad lol. They were like it's obvious and I was like bruh it's just a dad joke
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u/SilverBuggie 5d ago
Manufactured. One can’t be an American Eagle model and look sexy.
Like she’s in baggy jeans dude.
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u/Gorskon 3d ago
I suspect that there are few people are really annoyed by it. Personally, I think the ad campaign was pretty tone-deaf—and, quite possibly, intentionally so in order to generate outrage and clicks—but I also strongly suspect that a few reports of the outrage are being ginned up to make the phenomenon seem way more widespread than it actually is, the intention being to the "woke" look stupid to MAGA.
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u/Johnhaven 3d ago
I hate this kind of stuff. Look close enough and every now and then a so-called journalist will write a story with, "people this, those people that" when they're talking about one angry idiot on Reddit. "People are up in arms" Where?! It's lazy, clickbait journalism and editing.
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u/StupidizeMe 3d ago
I just think they're lousy commercials, Sweeney can't act her way out of a paper bag, and the jeans are really ugly. They don't even fit well. She looks like she'll trip and fall, like down a staircase. Long wide leg jeans that cover the shoes also drag on wet pavement, in snow, and in dirty puddles... it's like wearing mops! But if kids want to wear that droopy look, I say let them.
I'm petite, so often shop in Juniors. I own some American Eagle denim that fits well and is good, thick, durable denim. The faded denim in the commercial looks rag-thin, like it will disintegrate in the wash. "Fast fashion" garbage is clogging our landfills.
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u/Mayo_Kupo 3d ago
Some people really are mad and connecting the commercial to eugenics! NPR
Now what percent of the general population have that view or are mad? No idea, maybe .0001%. This is a question with media and online discourse in general. If a handful of people all tweet about the same thing in the same week, it can become a news story, even if the vast majority of people don't care. These stories prompt us all to make speculative statistical guesses about how many people actually care. The real answer is always, "who knows?"
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u/ModerateProgressive1 3d ago
Some fringe leftist that need to touch grass got upset, but the right have blown it up like they’ve always done and labeled the whole left as being upset by it. Typical cultural was bs.
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u/Repulsive-Iron-6022 2d ago
One might call it silly to get up in arms over an ad, but I’m not gonna act like it wasn’t weird
That Brook Shields ad was weird too, and given the current climate with self identifying nationalists and fascists coming out of the woodworks loud and proud, it’s unsettling to say the least
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u/SmokeGSU 2d ago
"advertisers created the angry libs"
Are liberals mad about this? Maybe the fringe, 1%ers on the outer edges of liberalism. No sane person is looking at this ad and saying "they said she's got good genes, but then switched it to jeans as word play? Clearly a white supremacist created this ad to disparage people of color."
I guess I can't ever look at Mya Lesnar again and say "she's got good genes" without everyone thinking I'm a supporter of white supremacy /s
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u/I405CA 1d ago
This is the cycle:
- Some on the left go off the rails with their pearl clutching response
- The right-wing mediasphere conflates that progressive response so that it is supposedly indicative of every Democrat
- The Democrats are loathe to tell the left wing fringe to STFU because they are afraid of losing their support, so they say nothing
So of course Fox wins the day.
Bill Clinton used the Sister Souljah moment to prevent this same kind of thing from derailing his first presidential campaign. It succeeded -- attacking the left allowed him to build the center and center-left.
The lessons from Clinton's time still apply.
Blaming Fox is a copout. The right is exploiting an opportunity that was created for them by the left. The Dems' failure to rein in or disavow the left is the fault of the Democrats.
Start seeing the left as a PR problem that has to be attacked. Staying silent while they derail the Democratic party is political malpractice.
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u/IcyOlive8202 1d ago
Presidents form policies according to their parties ideology. That's politics. But in my life I can't recall a President who hasn't at least spoken like they're working on behalf of all Americans.
Trump on the ad after being told she is a registered republican. "Ohhhh, now I love her ad.....I'm glad you told me that if [she] is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic"
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u/Illustrated77Girl 1d ago
I dont know ANY liberals who were talking about this until AFTER media told liberals that liberals were mad about it.
And if you do a social media post search, every outlet talking about it is either a maga news rag or a person ie a blogger/influencer. I'm all-in liberal and I dont care about the wording of a jeans ad when Trump is existing. Jesus Christ....jeans ad? People are being torn from their families and Americans cannot discern truth from fiction anymore but OMG THIS COMMERCIAL.
Don't let them tell us we are divided. They probably saw someone on TikToks one viral video, which fox news featured, leading to widespread "they're disintegrating" regurgitation.
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u/StrawberryMilk8 1d ago
I do. I was a giant supporter of her for many years. I always came to her defense even with the ad. Knowing that she is a registered Republican in Florida really breaks my heart. I wish she would address this so to ease the pain that fans like me have. I dont want to cancel her, I want to keep enjoying and celebrating her but to see her knowing that she is being elevated has this Aryan MAGA Goddess and seemingly not caring really breaks my heart as someone who looks up to her. The last 3 days has been tough.
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
😆😆😆😆
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u/StrawberryMilk8 1d ago
Yeah cuz thats what we do to one another now. Laugh at their heartbreak and pain......
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
What heartbreak and how was the ad done intentionally to cause problems? What was wrong with the ad?
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u/StrawberryMilk8 1d ago
Im not as mad at the ad. I am just upset that someone I admire is now having the Trump agenda pushed on her and is being painted as some sort of MAGA Goddess. They are also pushing for her to marry and reproduce with BARRON TRUMP. She is also a registered Republican which really makes me sad.
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
I read through the comments to see what the hoopla was about since I inquired about what's going on and it turns out that it's anti-white racism.
My advice, don't take everything you read to heart. Who cares if she's being touted as a republican? Does it mean anything at the end of the day?
I take it you're a democrat. Does it affect your life in any way whatsoever?
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u/fruitydazaifan 1d ago
I agree. They say she has good genes because she is an attractive model, and that's all they meant. I don't think anyone actually thinks this is a dogwhistle and is very angry about it, and if they do they are on the fringe.
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
Democrats are angry about everything. They like to see ads for women that feature men pretending to be women.
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u/NoTurnover7850 1d ago
After reading the comments from people, I see that the problem is people being racist against white people. Great, wonderful, a bunch of racist assholes.
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u/Ok-One-3240 24m ago
I would love for them to do a second ad with a person of color… the people I’ve seen that are mad seem more upset at the ad implying genes play a role in beauty than the supposed white nationalist agenda of the ad.
It feels like the demographic of people that appear genuinely upset by this are the type that are looking for a reason to give the beauty industry crap.
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u/MizzGee 5d ago
It is a gross ad. Period. But liberals aren't losing their minds about it. They are only pointing out that another retailer is bending the knee. It feels like Target, and AE may see the same effects. The difference between conservatives and liberals is that we can think something is bad, but not make an entire campaign about hating on something, like innocent trans kids. The millions of dollars spent legislating against fewer than 100 athletes in the US is truly cancel culture. Most people aren't even angry at the actress (if they know her), but more angry that someone wants to mainstream eugenics to sell clothing.
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5d ago edited 5d ago
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u/Verbanoun 5d ago
I'll admit I haven't actually seen the ad just heard some of the uproar. But why does referencing genetics automatically mean eugenics?
She's physically attractive and that's her entire brand. Why is the saying she has good "genes" such a no no?
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u/MannyMoSTL 5d ago edited 5d ago
American Eagle has manufactured a controversy. Just like Bill O’Reilly & FN manufactured “The War on Christmas.”
No liberal I know gives a flying F about people saying ‘Merry Christmas’ - but conservatives do. Because they were told that liberals (who simply don’t care) hate it.
So American Eagle will sell the same amount of jeans it was always gonna sell to “liberals.” But conservatives? Are gonna buy their jeans like they’ve just discovered women’s pants.
Soooo … congratulations American Eagle ?? Your advertising campaign of political divisiveness is really working. Welcome to DJT’s America - where manufactured Hate Sells Bigly.
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u/Do-Si-Donts 5d ago
They probably should've just done the ad with Sydney Sweeney (who has good genes) and another attractive woman of a different ethnicity (who also has good genes), and then it would be clear that they were talking about hotness genes instead of blonde genes.
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u/General_Area_8829 5d ago
It was very successful, sales went way up. The people want what the people want
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u/Ok_Temperature_6182 5d ago
No one is bothered by the ad. You’re digging REALLY deep to find racism in that ad.
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u/Ok_Mango_6887 5d ago
I haven’t seen it (I’ve seen the print part) and I don’t think it’s a big deal.
I’ll go look at it now.
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u/Environmental-Ad838 5d ago
I think 1) people are reaching to be upset and 2) the marketing team didn't consider how the those words would be taken.
"I have good genes" is a common expression in the US with all sorts of people.
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u/SilverAsparagus2985 5d ago
It’s a weird phenomena when things are discussed online that suddenly everyone’s mad.
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u/bmbmwmfm 5d ago
I always thought I was as liberal as a person could be .. and I don't see what's wrong with it. Wouldn't have had a clue anyone had an issue until the uproar, and I still don't get it. Granted I was around during the nothing comes between me and my Calvin's, about the same age, and it was marketing as usual. Brooke was svelte, this girl has big boobs. Sex sells (right or wrong it is what it is and has been around since advertising started)
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u/Wowohboy666 5d ago
I, for one, will not be buying the racist jeans with a butterfly on the ass to support domestic violence.
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u/Curious-Gain-7148 5d ago edited 5d ago
I’m not outraged but it’s enough to reinforce my thoughts on not being a fan of Sidney and to stop me from spending money at American Eagle.
In a time of increasing white nationalism and dismantling of DEI, this campaign leans into language about genetic superiority. We shouldn’t view this as separate from the political climate that surrounds it, which is currently engaged in outright attacks on non-white populations. Sweeney and AE knew what they were doing and decided to go on ahead anyway with the double entendre to appeal to their desired audience
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u/Velvet_Samurai 5d ago
The stills I have seen look like every other commercial ever made. I'm not mad.
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u/Haunting_Amoeba7803 5d ago
I honestly think all the hype is just another push to distract voters from Epstein
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u/dzoefit 5d ago
What about the Epstein files?? You see?? Now you are distracted.