Ted Cruz defends Sydney Sweeney after criticism of American Eagle ad campaign

Senator Ted Cruz defended Sydney Sweeney after her American Eagle ad campaign sparked intense criticism online. He referred to the critics as "crazy leftists" for accusing the ad of promoting eugenics. The Senator from Texas responded to a New York Post article and wrote in an X-Post: "Wow. Now the crazy left is going after beautiful women. I'm sure that will poll well..." The ad, part of a larger collaboration between Sweeney and American Eagle, features the 'Euphoria' star in jeans and plays on the word 'gene' to allude to both her DNA and her jeans. In a video, Sweeney says, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring," before the camera pans to her blue jeans and blue eyes. She concludes the video by saying, "My jeans are blue." Critics quickly labeled the message as disturbing, calling the image of the blonde, blue-eyed woman a regression to outdated beauty ideals and the male gaze. Others saw the emphasis on Sweeney's 'good genes' as a reference to eugenics, a pseudoscience rooted in racism, and argued that the ad promotes a harmful notion of attractiveness. Other celebrities, including reality TV star Gabby Windey, criticized the video. Rapper Doja Cat mocked the ad in a TikTok post.