Aimee Lou Wood allegedly shaded Sydney Sweeney’s comments about the AE jeans backlash, and fans think she said what everyone’s thinking

Actress Sydney Sweeney finally spoke out about her controversial American Eagle “great jeans” ad that came out in late July, but many fans said her remarks fell flat.

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One person in particular was unimpressed with Sweeney’s response; Aimee Lou Wood allegedly posted a negative comment before deleting it.

Sweeney used a GQ interview months after the infamous ad came out to address the controversy. Critics complained that she barely grazed the core concerns. They expected some reflection regarding accusations that the campaign leaned into racist ideas about whiteness and genetics. But the actress didn’t even acknowledge people’s concerns beyond a cursory mention.

“I did a jean ad,” she told GQ, smiling. “I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt, like, every day of my life.”

Many commenters believed Sweeney refused to grapple with the backlash. To them, the interview avoided the central issue: people accused the ad of promoting eugenics and celebrating white beauty standards. Despite that broad reaction, her answer stayed focused on denim.

One person wrote, “She is not getting the message.. live and learn baby. Show you learnt SOMETHING for the backlash.” Another said, “Yas queen, give us nothing.”

A third user called her statement “so smug.” Because of that perception, her comments spread again, but not in the way she might have hoped.

@KantInEastt tweeted, “Interviewer asks, ‘White people shouldn’t have the feeling of genetic superiority. What do you think?’ Sydney Sweeney, ‘I will talk about it if I have an issue with it.’ Now I understand why people hate her.”

Critics argued she missed an opportunity to acknowledge harm. One commenter explained, “Gosh. Just imagine having the immense and powerful opportunity to say ‘I was disgusted by the very suggestion that I might be in any way aligned with white supremacy, eugenics and fascists’. And instead choosing to chat this nonsense. Eeeesh.”

Influencers and actors joined the criticism

Award-winning photographer and activist Misan Harriman also weighed in. He posted on Instagram about the topic, saying, “Presuming that you are not a white supremacist, at least say how horrified you were by how this campaign was amplified and celebrated by unrepentant racists who believe in eugenics.”

He also urged her to address real harm. “The undertone of the campaign is that your genetics are superior to others, the play on words is clear as day and racists LOVED it! So, presuming you didn’t know when you shot it, you certainly do now, and it matters.”

Actress Aimee Lou Wood appeared to agree. She follows Harriman and, according to fans, liked his post. In addition, she seemed to drop a vomiting emoji in the comments. The alleged message appeared in a screen recording of the video that was shared in a Reddit post from r/Fauxmoi by u/pinkstarrfish.

It also appeared in a screenshot shared by @favspopculture on X.

That comment later vanished, and the Daily Dot could not independently verify it.