It was the vocal fry heard and mocked ’round the internet: “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color.” A pause, as a lounging Sydney Sweeney zips up her jeans, then looks up with her big blue eyes: “My jeans are blue.”

Sydney Sweeney's American Eagle ad sparked backlash over claims of oversexualization, missed targeting of its audience and controversial messaging

Sydney is the face of American Eagle’s latest denim ad campaign, which centers around the tagline: “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” as a play on “great genes.” There are a ton of pictures and clips you can still find on AE’s socials, but I’ll tell you about the ones getting the most backlash...