“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness,” Sweeney said in an interview with PEOPLE published this Friday. “In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it.”
The Anyone but You star was referring to an interview with GQ where she shut down a virtue-signaling reporter encouraging her to denounce the successful ad campaign as racist:
“The criticism of the content, which was basically that, maybe specifically in this political climate, white people shouldn’t joke about genetic superiority,” began reporter Katherine Stoeffel. “That was the criticism, broadly speaking. Since you are talking about this, I want to give you an opportunity to talk about that specifically.”
“I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear,” Sweeney replied without elaborating any further.
The journo’s pleading smirk paired with Sweeney’s obvious repulsion quickly blew up into a meme, with many commentators rejoicing that her refusal to apologize represented the decline of woke identity politics.
In the weeks since that interview, left-wing celebrities and pundits continually attacked the Madame Web actress. Aimee Lou Wood, who shares acting credits with Sweeney on HBO’s The White Lotus, publicly “liked” an Instagram post suggesting the younger, more successful starlet is a racist.
Ruby Rose reviled the younger, more successful starlet as a “cretin” and blamed her for the boxing biopic Christy underperforming (she pushed for the role and didn’t get it).
One report claimed that, behind the scenes, Spider-Man star Zendaya was so offended by Sweeney’s perceived politics that she refuses to be seen together with the younger, equally successful starlet — even while doing publicity for their HBO series Euphoria.
Whatever got to Sweeney and/or her representatives, it got her good. Talking to PEOPLE, Sweeney finally acquiesced to the charges of racism and sexism (posing for the dreaded “male gaze”!) coming from a tiny minority of people:
The campaign sparked a debate that the usage of the word “jeans” as a play on “genes” is racially charged and hints at genetic superiority. Others criticized it for catering to the male gaze and taking inspiration from Brooke Shields’ controversial 1980 denim campaign.
“I was honestly surprised by the reaction,” Sweeney tells PEOPLE. “I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true.”
After groveling for her past “silence,” the Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actress tried to hit a positive note: “I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”
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