“It’s no wonder she’s refusing to do it,” a source told the Daily Mail. “It’s a difficult position for Zendaya to be in because if she even stands next to Sydney on the red carpet, it can be read as her excusing Sydney’s views on Trump and her refusal to apologize for the racist ad.”
Controversy over Sweeney’s ad, which was originally released in the summer, erupted again over the past week and was said to be a factor in the box-office failure of her new sports biopic, “Christy.” The film about famed female boxer Christy Martin earned just $1.3 million this past weekend after being released on more than 2,000 screens. It also was supposed to put the 28-year-old star into contention for an Academy Award nomination.
Instead, Sweeney renewed controversy over the ad by trying to dismiss questions about it in a recent interview with GQ.
The ad was criticized for using the slogan, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” which appeared to play on the idea that the white, blond, blue-eyed actor has “great genes,” Yahoo reported. Both Sweeney and the ad were accused of promoting language around eugenics and racial superiority. As Sweeney was attacked by people on the left side of the political aisle, she was championed by people on the right, with President Donald Trump taking to social media to praise and defend her — especially after he heard she was a registered Republican.
During the GQ interview, the writer gave Sweeney several chances to respond to the controversy, according to clips of the interview posted to social media. When the writer said that, in today’s political climate, White people joking about genetic superiority could be considered offensive, Sweeney replied, “I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear.”
To fans and potential “Christy” viewers, Sweeney’s response sounded like she neither wanted to denounce a racist reading of the ad, or to even denounced white supremacy, Yahoo said. Sweeney also claimed she didn’t have time to focus on the controversy because she had been busy working on the upcoming season of “Euphoria.” She insisted that the message of the ad was just about denim and self-confidence, not about anything else. She said, “I mean, the reaction was definitely a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life.”
It shouldn’t be surprising that Zendaya could have a problem with Sweeney’s ad. Besides having a mixed-race heritage, the “Challengers” actor also has been outspoken in her opposition to Trump, the Daily Mail said. In 2020 she shared an Instagram post explaining voting rights with the caption, “Vote this MF out,” a clear nod to Trump, who first served as present from 2017 to 2021.
Meanwhile, other stars have joined what the Daily Mail called a Sweeney “pile-on.” British actor Dan Stevens reshared a social media post that said, “Sydney Sweeney’s GQ interview is a reminder that ‘not having a stance’ on White supremacy is 100% having a stance on White supremacy.”
Last week, Aimee Lou Wood, a star of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” appeared to make her feelings known about Sweeney’s ad when she responded with a vomiting emoji to another post about the situation, Buzzfeed News reported. In an Instagram video, Content creator Jupiter Baal also shared a clip from Sweeney’s GQ interview before telling viewers, “She was given an opportunity to push back, she didn’t, therefore she’s in on it,” Buzzfeed News added.