Admittedly, I never imagined Sydney Sweeney would be the catalyst for identity politics beginning to fade—certainly not while modeling a pair of American Eagle light-wash jeans—but here we are.
In a nearly 20-minute interview, GQ's features editor Katherine Stoeffel either seemed intent on forcing the actor to apologize for being young, pretty and — wait for it — white. It's not clear what her intent was, but regardless, the interview showed how far obsessed Hollywood and the left has become with identity politics.
The interview is about Sweeney's new film, "Christy," and the rising star herself: She's been one of Hollywood's "it" girls for awhile. Eventually, Stoeffel admits she's dancing around talking about Sweeney's bafflingly controversial 30-second viral American Eagle ad, wherein Sweeney wears a pair of blue jeans and looks great.
"Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue," Sweeney says in the ad. This caused an uproar among the left. Some even accused American Eagle — and Sweeney — of promoting eugenics.
So Stoeffel walks down this path, poking and prodding Sweeney for reactions. Here are two of the most revealing questions and answers.
Stoeffel: "Is there something that you want to say about the ad itself, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans?"
Sweeney: "The ad spoke for itself."
Stoeffel: "The criticism of the content was basically that maybe specifically in this political climate, white people shouldn't joke about genetic superiority … I just wanted to give you an opportunity to talk about that specifically."
Sweeney: "I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear."
The entire time, Sweeney remains unbothered, nearly expressionless. Stoeffel seems to want to compel Sweeney toward an apology for being white and beautiful — and making a jean ad with a play on the word "gene" in the ad. I don't know (or care) what Sweeney's actual politics are, but the interview is a master-class in handling sneaky, yet adversarial questions, posed as curiosity. She acted with grace and poise. Kudos to her.
Conservative women, especially those who get a lot of heat for their views, seemed to appreciate Sweeney's no nonsense attitude and refusal to take the bait and apologize for being herself.
"Sydney Sweeney didn't apologize for being a beautiful, white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman and some people are so mad about it lol," Riley Gaines posted on X.
"Sydney Sweeney is the embodiment of classic Americana beauty. She grew up in-between Washington and Idaho, worked on cars, and competed in mixed martial arts, yet she's hyper-feminine on the red carpet. She's the tomboy who unapologetically loves men and loves being a woman," Brittany Hugoboom, founder of Evie Magazine, posted on X.
Identity politics has been rampant on the left, and especially in Hollywood, for years, perhaps as a reaction to first being scolded for being "too white."
Whether it's their full-throated embrace of Black Lives Matter, a movement whose founders turned out to be misusing millions in donations, or Disney's insistence on overrepresenting minorities or LGBTQ+ characters in film, it seems like identity politics sometimes matters more than good storytelling, accuracy or the truth. Leftists in Hollywood now seem like they treat race or even being conventionally attractive as morally suspect, encouraging audiences to feel contempt or disdain.
It's spilled over into politics too, as Vice President Kamala Harris's failed campaign for president can attest. She was in no way qualified to run for the presidency, and had never won a national primary vote. But she had some political experience and the Democratic Party thought she checked a lot of boxes for voters who seem like they care about identity politics. Unfortunately for them, it didn't work.
Here's the irony: Stoeffel's insistent, awkward attempts to get Sweeney to apologize for being white and pretty flips identity politics on its head and shows how hypocritical Hollywood is. If Sweeney were a different race, obese and conventionally unattractive, would she have been praised by Stoeffel for breaking stereotypes or for being unafraid to be who she is in a jean ad?
It is only because Sweeney held firm, was unapologetically herself and completely unbothered, that we see just how far down the rabbit hole the left has gone. This contradicts the message of inclusivity and self-love Hollywood has also tried to send women and girls for decades. Now that women finally are, they're getting excoriated for it. I hope this ad and the interviews that followed signal an end to Hollywood and the left's obsession with identity politics.
