Sydney Sweeney Viciously Heckled At An Event Over 'Racist' American Eagle Ad

Sydney Sweeney has continued to face backlash over her controversial American Eagle ad.

The actress was most recently heckled by a female while attending the premiere of her film "Americana," according to reports.

Sydney Sweeney has remained silent in the face of the controversy, although the company broke its silence in an official statement last Friday.

Sweeney's red carpet moment was unexpectedly disrupted when backlash over her recent American Eagle campaign followed her to the premiere of her latest film.

On Sunday night, the actress made an appearance at the premiere of her crime thriller, "Americana," in which she stars in the lead role as Penny Jo Poplin.

However, upon her arrival at the location at Desert 5 Spot in Hollywood, she was heckled by a woman off-camera.

According to TMZ, the unidentified heckler shouted at Sweeney, "Stop the ad, that is being racist!" just as the actress was being escorted by security toward the theater's entrance.

Sweeney, who was dressed in a glamorous, pale yellow, sleeveless gown, appeared unfazed by the outburst. She kept her composure and continued walking into the venue without reacting to the heckler's comments.

She was later spotted posing for pictures with her "Americana" costars Halsey and Simon Rex, as well as director Tony Tost.

Late last month, Sweeney was seen in multiple videos seemingly praising her "genes" in what appeared to be cheeky denim puns for American Eagle's "jeans" campaign.

One of the videos featured the actress standing in front of a poster that reads "Sydney Sweeney has great genes."

However, the word "genes" had been crossed out and swapped with the word "jeans."

In another clip, Sweeney was seen reading out the lines, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue."

At the time, many netizens were quick to criticize the campaign, claiming it carried racial undertones and promoted white supremacy.

Despite the criticism, Sweeney has yet to address the issue publicly, and her reasons for staying silent remain unknown.

On the other hand, the brand has broken its silence, taking to Instagram last Friday to praise the actress and double down on support for the campaign.

"'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Her Jeans. Her Story," the company wrote.

It continued, "We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way."

After doubling down on its campaign, American Eagle received more backlash from Instagram users who saw the response.

One asked, "So what is the correlation between Jeans and eye color again?" while another trolled the company, saying, "They really thought they ate with that explanation, lmao."

"So now 'jeans' are passed down from parents to offspring? Let's be [for real], it was never about jeans," a third netizen remarked.

A fourth said, "So her 'jeans' are what determine 'eye color, hair color, and even personality?' Does this actually make sense to you? Are y'all ok?"

Another individual commented, "This is even more embarrassing than the ad."

One more person wrote, "It doesn't matter what your intent was—what matters is the impact. intent ≠ impact."

Some PR experts have offered opinions on what Sweeney's silence amid the backlash could mean.

Crisis PR expert Eric Schiffer described it as a "toxic time bomb" that could damage her "wholesome brand." The CEO of Reputation Management Consultants also noted that her" no‑comment stance will scream ruthless privilege to those offended."

Publicist Courtney Haywood claimed Sweeney's silence reads as "indifference" and urged the actress to "own the moment" and learn from it.

One other expert suggested that the actress may be intentionally choosing not to respond in order to appear polarizing.

"This is a play for attention, not respectability. She's embracing a kind of polarizing, headline-generating persona — and for now, it's working," said Publicist Alexandria Hurley, per the Daily Mail.

"Sydney has flirted with controversy before — from her SNL Hooters skit to her recent Bathwater Bliss collaboration with Dr. Squatch — and rather than walk it back after criticism, she's leaned further in," Hurley added. "That's not oversight. That's strategy."