Sydney Sweeney Makes 1st Public Appearance Following American Eagle Controversy

Sydney Sweeney made her first public appearance following her recent American Eagle campaign controversy.

Walking the red carpet in Los Angeles on Sunday, August 3, at a screening of her new film Americana, Sweeney, 27, flashed a wide smile for the cameras, posing for solo snaps and photos with fellow cast members.

Dressed to the nines to celebrate the film’s August 15 release date, the actress oozed confidence in a corseted champagne-hued gown with a tulle skirt, completing the look with a wide lemon colored headband.

The public appearance came just two days after American Eagle publicly addressed the negative feedback it received after featuring Sweeney in a denim campaign that touted the star’s “great jeans” — a double entendre on the word “genes.”

The campaign, which depicted the Anyone But You actress posing seductively in the brand’s denim pieces, attracted criticism for seemingly alluding to eugenics, a discredited, racially biased belief that aimed to improve human genetics and was associated with white supremacy.

In the brand’s Friday, August 1, Instagram response to the criticism, it referenced the campaign’s tag line and expanded its intended meaning. “ “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” is and always was about the jeans,” the brand’s statement read. “Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”