WASHINGTON — Sydney Sweeney is speaking out for the first time about the backlash surrounding her controversial American Eagle campaign, telling GQ she was surprised by the reaction but largely unfazed by the online debate that followed.

“I did a jean ad,” the “Euphoria” star said. “I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life.”

The 28-year-old actor, who fronted the campaign titled “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” found herself at the center of a cultural firestorm as a result of the ad’s “great genes” tagline.

Some critics saw the wordplay as a nod, either unintentional or deliberate, to eugenics, a discredited theory that held humanity could be improved through selective breedin

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