Dr. Phil defends Sydney Sweeney ad, vows to buy American Eagle jeans

Dr. Phil McCraw is defending Sydney Sweeney amid the ongoing backlash to her controversial American Eagle ad campaign.

The TV personality was asked to give his two cents on the issue during his Friday visit to Real Time with Bill Maher, which saw the titular host complain about the reaction to Sweeney’s ad.

“Sydney Sweeney came out as — not came out — she was exposed as a Republican,” Maher began. “And she has the big jeans ad that was controversial. And they reported this like it was a scandal, [that] she’s a Republican. I just got to say this is not where I want America to go. It is not a slur that someone is a Republican.”

Dr. Phil agreed, slamming the outrage Sweeney’s ad has received.

“For people to go crazy over that ad [that says] ‘she’s got good genes,’ and for them to say that’s the equivalent of the Holocaust, is an absolute insult,” McCraw said. “Six million people were killed. Six million Jews were massacred and murdered, and they equate that to a blue jeans ad for a Hollywood actress? What an insult.”

He continued, “That is ridiculous. I’m gonna go out and buy those jeans for every woman in my family, everybody I know just to show support.”

Though Maher agreed with the sentiment, he wasn’t onboard with McCraw’s plan to buy American Eagle jeans for every woman he knows.

“That’s a little creepy,” he observed. 

Dr. Phil only doubled down, replying, “You should go buy 10 pairs of those jeans and just throw them out the window to everybody you know. Do everything you can to support that company and not let them get cancelled because of that ad.”

Maher laughed, “Don’t be buying jeans for the women.”

The outrage emerged in response to American Eagle pairing blonde and blue eyed Sweeney with the tagline, “has great jeans/genes.” The campaign’s most criticized promo features the actress reclining on a couch and fastening her jeans as she murmurs, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My genes are blue.”  Then a male narrator adds, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.”

The social media response was loud and immediate, with some accusing the campaign of dog-whistling white supremacy, and espousing antisemitic ideology.

“It’s more than a cheeky wordplay, it’s a dog whistle,” one TikTok user, jessbritvich said in a video. “In this ad… it’s saying that Sydney has a great body and therefore great genes, a product of genetic superiority. Specifically saying these white, thin, traditionally feminine bodies are not just aspirational but symbols of morality, tradition, purity.”

She added, “It’s echoing the language of white purity politics, and purity of blond hair and blue eyes. This language has cultural context… No, I really don’t think this is an accident.”

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

The criticisms picked up yet more steam following reports that Sweeney is a registered Republican, prompting her to gain the support of President Donald Trump, who said, “If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic!”

In response, conservative pundits like Maher have slammed the outrage as an overreaction from liberals. Sweeney herself has yet to formally address the accusation that the American Eagle ad espouses eugenics ideology, though the brand eventually issued a statement, claiming the ad “is and always was about the jeans.”

The statement added, “We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”