Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad controversy: 5 things to know

3. Some conservatives say the Sweeney ad ‘objectifies’ women

While much support for American Eagle’s Sweeney ad has come from those who identify as conservative, not everyone on the Right has embraced the sexualized ad campaign. 

One such critic is “Relatable” podcast host and conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey, who expressed her concerns in a July 29 X post without naming Sweeney or American Eagle directly.

“Just because hotness is conservative-coded, doesn’t mean Christians should applaud sexual objectification,” she wrote. 

The next day, pro-life activist Lila Rose wrote in an X post, “If we care about family values, we should oppose sexually objectifying ad campaigns.”

Shawn Carney, president and CEO of the pro-life advocacy group 40 Days for Life, offered a similar analysis in an op-ed published by The Washington Examiner. 

“The objectification doesn’t suddenly become conservative or Christian just because it's done in a manner that offends woke sensibilities,” he wrote. “Christians and conservatives shouldn’t be promoting it as a win. Christian leaders saying the Sweeney ad is a cultural victory are implicitly stating that it’s perfectly acceptable and even laudable for women to be treated as sex objects.”

“We’ve been fighting woke and anti-Christian themes in marketing for so long that many are now perfectly comfortable selling out women’s dignity as long as we don’t have to look at an obese man with a full beard wearing a tutu,” he added.

“Women deserve better than to be objectified,” he concluded. “All women, including Sweeney.”