Beyonce’s old denim ad compared to Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle ad: ‘When a white woman…’

Sydney Sweeney has been at the center of controversy ever since she featured in American Eagle’s new ad campaign. In an attempt to revive the brand, they roped in Sweeney for a new ad campaign, which had her sporting seven different denim looks. The images seemed fine, but people raised objections to the ad's tagline, which read as “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”. The line sent the internet into a spiral, with many claiming American Eagle for promoting eugenics. While the controversy rages on, Beyoncé has now been dragged into the discourse. A certain section on social media compared Sydney Sweeney’s ad to Beyoncé’s Levi’s campaign, which came out earlier this year in February.

Beyonce and Sydney’s denim ads compared

Back in February this year, Beyonce had collaborated with the popular denim brand and promoted the second chapter of Beyoncé's and Levi's "Reimagine" campaign titled "Pool Hall."

The images have suddenly resurfaced online in the past few days, which show Beyoncé striking a pose in a denim-on-denim look. In one image, she wears a strappy vest, layering the fitted number with an embroidered jacket and, of course, a pair of jeans. Many have drawn similarities between Beyonce and Sydney’s images, pointing out how their poses are strikingly similar to each other.

While some users found both the ads identical, a few differed in their opinion.

"So Beyoncé can pose in Levi jeans and it's art… But when a white woman does it, it's a national crisis?" wrote one user and shared the two images side by side.

“Just going to leave this pic from Beyoncé Levi's campaign right here for those saying Sydney Sweeney with her blond hair/denim/sultry look is racist," pointed out another.

However, someone pointed out that while pose might be similar, Beyonce was not promoting eugenics.

What was the controversy around the American Eagle ad?

The ad, featuring Sydney Sweeney, offended many as it repeatedly played with the pun-intended words ‘genes’ and ‘jeans’, leading to sharp criticism. In the video, the actress says, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour," before the camera focuses on her deep blue eyes. "My jeans are blue," she added.

Many highlighted the tone-deaf texts and captions of the ad and termed it ‘eugenics’ and called it ‘white supremacy’. While it may not have been a conscious wordplay, the resemblance was hard to ignore for many.