August 3, 2025 • 31 mins
After a week of controversy from an online AE ad that went all the way up to the White House, American Eagle finally issued a statement. BUT, as Amy and T.J. discuss, that statement pissed some people off even more than the original ad! The question, should we be mad, or should we be asking ourselves WHY we’re so mad and how can we all do better?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, folks, it is a beautiful Sunday, August third. An
American Eagle has finally responded after setting everybody off with
that controversial Sydney sweeneyad. We're talking everybody from liberals, conservatives,
black folks, white folks, Democrats, Republicans, Jade Vans, the White House, Lizzo,
(00:25):
Doja Cat. They got everybody worked up about it, Robes,
and they have finally not responded. And you know what
they said, folks, not a whole lot and welcome to
this episode.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Of Amy and TJ. Robes. Are you surprised?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
I kind of want to give our reaction to the reaction.
We did the story initially and some people were worked up,
but this thing's been going on a full week now.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well, I would just say that if the goal of
advertising is to have people talking about you, then American
Eagle has won because everyone is talking about them, and everyone,
it seems, has weighed in on whether or not they
think their ad was appropriate or not. But I think
my reaction was that I get what people are saying.
(01:06):
I think people read far too into it. There are
a lot of folks who believe this was intentional, that
they're trying to get Trump supporters to buy American Eagle genes.
I don't know about all of that, but I can
see how it was a mistake that they didn't anticipate.
I don't know that it was a deliberate It doesn't
feel like to me. I don't know how you feel.
It doesn't seem like this was some deliberate attempt to
(01:28):
stir the pot. But maybe I'm naive.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
But so what even if it was, are we mad?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Are we mad at American Eagle for doing what companies do,
which is to get as much attention as you can
and to make as much money as you can.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Are we upset with their methods? We're upset with their methods.
Some would argue because they intentionally used a racist dog whistle,
essentially by making an announcement that these products are for
you because you are preme because you have these particular genes,
ge and es. If they did it that way, I
(02:07):
guess you should take issues.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, that would be offensive if it was absolutely a
deliberate orchestrated advertisement to basically say that Sydney Sweeney's genes
as in G E. N E s, which are blonde, white,
blue eyed, big boobed girl, if that is what we
the gold standard that we all need to be working towards. Yes,
(02:31):
that's offensive one hundred percent, But could it just be
that they were saying she was hot as hell and
so she has good genes.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
We can leave it at that, and I think there
there there's got to be some room left for that
conversation in the middle, because I guess most people fall
into a few categories.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You're either.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You're four or against, but you're four or against either
as an extremist, or you're four and against just as Okay,
I didn't really have a problem with it, but I'm
willing to listen to someone who did. And if someone
who did have a problem with it says, okay, this
was my issue, but I give you the benefit of
the doubt that you weren't trying to be offensive, that's
(03:09):
probably where most of us are.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, that's where I am. I think you just snailed it.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That's yeah, exactly, not only extremes where the debates are
happening online and people are saying some of that nasty
stuff that's not really it. But that debate has continued
to go and yes, it made it to the White House,
but Rose we Finally, I think it was July twenty
third when the article first came out. All this has
been going back and forth. The stock price went up.
Articles are everywhere. Everybody is chiming in American Eagle did
(03:36):
not until this weekend, and they didn't give us a
whole lot.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, so should we read their statement for everybody? Okay,
so in case you didn't see it, they had up
on their Instagram. Finally, a statement that says this Sydney
Sweeney has Great Genes is and always was about the jeens,
her jeans. Her story will continue to celebrate how everyone
wears their ae genes with confidence that their way great
(04:03):
genes look good on everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
And that was it. It wasn't a lot of fanfare.
It was just an a solid backdrop with just the
text over it, and that was the end of it.
They probably know the less they say the better. Just
let everybody everybody else is talking about us. We don't
need to chime in and talk, because that is an
upside for them. But I think it's gotten a little
(04:29):
It's gone a little far from just some criticism to
now it seems to have taken a heavier turn tone.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
I should say yes.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
And I think a lot of people, well at least
folks who commented, and sometimes folks who comment tend to
be on the extreme side of things. Not everyone, but
some of these comments certainly are were surprised or not surprised,
but certainly reacted to the fact that there wasn't an
apology in that statement. They wanted them to say, We're
so sorry if we offended blah blah blah. What do
(04:58):
you think about their decision? And it absolutely was a
decision to kind of acknowledge the controversy by saying, guys,
we're not just talking about people who look like Sidney Sweeney.
We're talking about everybody. But they didn't say they were sorry,
and they didn't say they made a mistake, and they
didn't say or acknowledged that they offended anyone.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
That's the part maybe I would like, and I don't
fault them for not doing so, but that's the part
I would like. I would like, when you have an
opportunity to get everybody's attention the way they have, why
can't we do.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Something positive with it.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Let's take an opportunity now and say, yes, we acknowledge
the way this was taken by some people encourage them
to do their own digging and do their own history
and do their own fact checking and right, because how
many times have we seen something in recent years, something
happens online and somebody missed the boat or didn't understand.
Then we go talk to people in our own lives
(05:53):
who are a little younger and they yeah, I didn't
know that was offensive either. Right, It's okay to take
a moment and educate people. That's okay, And I wish
maybe they'd have done a little more there, but I
don't fault them for not doing so.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
The other issue that people took with American Eagle was
while this whole controversy was going on for a full
week plus, the only social media post that they made
on Instagram was another advertisement with a black woman in
their genes. And so then the comments we, oh wow,
this is the equivalent of American Eagles saying I have
(06:25):
black friends too, and so people took offense to They
didn't say anything, but they just instead put up an
advertisement with a black woman in a pair of their
American Eagle genes.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Hell of a coincidence, but I guess another miss that's
because the fourteen previous posts on their Instagram page were
all of Sidney Twiney advertising these gene literally fourteen we
counted before we came on here, and then this one
comes out of nowhere about I mean, she looks a
light skinned black woman and I think she had maybe
a minifro.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Or something like that.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I can't remember, but yeah, certainly a different look from
the other.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Why they was to put that up at the time, who.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
You know whatever, without any explanation, just putting that up there.
It did when someone wrote it seems like the equivalent
of a white person being accused of being racist saying
I got black friends. I mean, it actually really was
kind of spot on. That was kind of funny.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
I'm trying to give American Eagle the benefit of the doubt.
From a couple of standpoint, we robes this is a company.
It's kind of been in the dumps. They have for
a while. They've been struggling financially, they struggling with sales,
so they tried something and this is maybe even a
desperate attempt. And in the middle of all this, yes,
we talked, you saw the headlines about their stock price
(07:36):
going up when this thing hit, and you can see
it on the line.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Sure enough.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
It hit on July twenty third, and there is an
uptick over the next several days and that stock goes up.
And you know what happened after that, It dropped and
it's come back down to earth. And as we sit
here and talking, the stock is trading at less than
it was before this ad hit.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
So was it a hit and a miss?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
They got a mean stock? What they call it? Right?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
This controversial stuff to where something all of a sudden
becomes a popular stock, not because of the way the
company performs, but because of something on social media, because
it's getting buzzed. That is what appears to have happened.
But the backlash, now I thought was going to be
a quick thing, now seems to maybe becoming a stronger
push against American Eagle than I thought was going to
(08:23):
come of it.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
And it has felt like it's become a political o
potato truly, And because the White House has chimed in,
because JD. Van's chimed in, that has absolutely it feels
like if you're a Republican, you're supporting Sydney Sweeney and
American Eagle, and a guess that anyone would make a
Nazi comparison with the eugenics and all of that, and
(08:46):
then if you are on the left, you're outraged that
and convinced that this was a deliberate attack on anyone
who isn't blonde hair, blue eyed, and white targeted.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
This is the problem with targeted advertising when you're targeting
young white women is that too often everybody else was
kept out of that club. So when it feels like legally,
like in atrocious ways, we're kept out of that club.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So when it feels like you are.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Like legally bold face and you are telling everybody you
are not in our club, we don't want you in
our club. This is what makes a good club member
for us. That hits different, and we have to just
be able to say, Okay, we acknowledge how that might
be offensive to you the public, and we the public
(09:44):
have to also acknowledge and just say, hey, we understand
that's your target. Onio, that can be a balance. We
don't have to be outraged about everything. We don't have
to end up at Nazi over a damn pair of
jeans on the hottest actress.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
On the planet.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, it immediately went to Nazi.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
There's a butterfly on her butt and we're talking about nazis.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Too much, too far of a stretch.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That's what I means.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
We can never have a decent conversation about these things.
And the conversations you've had, you and I have had
behind the scenes are the types I wish we could
have in public because we actually engage and we learned something.
Because I'm talking to somebody who if I screw up,
they know I'm coming from.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
A good place and it's a place of love.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
So if you say something offensive when it has to
do with something you didn't know about black folks, it's
I'm not offended because it's coming from a place of
love and you just didn't know.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Something like this. It's the same thing.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
If we could just say, Okay, they didn't know, let
me do better, let me learn better, let me listen,
let me not immediately jump to name calling.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So from that perspective, then, so some folks who chimed
in after the statement came out from an American Eagle on
their Instagram account that the statement pissed them off even
more than the original ad did because there wasn't an
acknowledgement of any of that. It was kind of like
like blah blah, blah blah blah people. And that actually
(11:08):
angered folks even.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
More is that it just continued smart advertising and that,
let me give them a little drop. They'll talk about this,
but then they're going to get mad at us for
not doing that, so we'll stay in the news cycle.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
That might have been calculated.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Wouldn't they have pissed off if you believe it's true,
like if they had said they were sorry, or if
they had said, this is a teachable moment for us,
or this is some opportunity for us all to learn
and come together and understand in a different way. Wouldn't
that have pissed off the right? Wouldn't that have pissed
off the anti woke campaign that's going on for so
many Trump followers, It would have angered them just as
(11:44):
much in this space after what happened. I don't think
American Eagle could have done something or said something that
would have placated both sides.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
But why are we trying to placate both sides of anything?
And why are we also trying to apologize for And
this is where I defend American Eagle. The demographic is
fifteen to twenty five year old women. I assure you
the majority of them are white. That's their audience. Who
(12:13):
does a girl fifteen to twenty five year old everyone
on the planet that's white, blonde haired, blue eye who
she look up to?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Right now?
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Sidney Sweeney.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Okay, they nailed it in what they were going after.
Should they apologize for not being inclusive in their advertising?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Do you have to?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I don't know the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
So the next part of that is, do you have
a different standard of inclusivity if the people you are
excluding are all people of color? That is I think
a dynamic that's happening taking place in this role. I
mean fubu for us. By us, I mean, there are
plenty of companies out there who specifically target certain demographics,
(12:59):
but it doesn't feel necessarily if I'm excluding a white
person from my group, nobody's white people aren't beating down
the door trying to get into my black club.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
You see the difference.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Yes, yes, And that is an excellent point, and I
totally get that, But I think this took it to
a whole other level. Obviously, with the word genes, g
e ns and offspring, it just sounded so much like eugenics.
That is what just took it to a whole other
level because look, when you see advertising campaigns, yes, you
(13:32):
usually see I feel like everywhere now in every it's
so funny every advertisement I see an interracial couple every
like every commercial, now, every advertisement on TV. Take note
of it. It's actually alarming because what's the percentage of
interracial couples in this country? Very small?
Speaker 1 (13:51):
It's eighty seven percent according to the commercials.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Right, but in all the commercials, I swear more than
half of them have interracial couples and then beautiful mixed children.
And it's hilarious to me.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Take no issue with that.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
I take no issue in showing that and things looking
to normalize. Normalizing it's a great way to put I
got no problem with seeing that to a point that
we it's no big deal anymore, and that's fine, But
when will we ever get to a point where we
as people of color see an advertisement like the one
that American Eagles put up and think, huh, no big deal,
(14:26):
they're just doing something that like, it doesn't register to
us at all.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
So instead of looking at it as an attack on
people of color, you look at it as a targeted
ad towards white people.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Okay, wouldn't that be a sign of progress as well?
We don't ever usually look at it that way. We
want to look at the ad and if the ad
is diverse, then therefore we must be doing better in society.
But what if we look at the ad and don't
fucking react to it being a white girl, a black girl,
a mixed girl, whatever.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
What do we get to that point?
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Well, that would be amazing. That might be impossible, but yes,
that could be nirvana. Nirvana, Yeah, where you don't take
You know, here's the deal. We all do it, white, black,
whatever color you are. You're looking at it through the
lens of your experience and how it affects you and
what it might be saying to you, and your ego
is charged saying, am I being attacked? Do I need
(15:22):
to defend myself? Do I need to push to have
my viewpoint included? You know, we all look at it
through our own personal lens instead of acknowledging how it
could impact other people. When we all do that individually, collectively,
we're a freaking mess.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
But isn't that that right that you want inclusive advertising?
Because you if I look on TV and see somebody
that looks like me doing something, then I'm more prone
to buy that.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Product, right, simple, Yeah, it's you're relating to it. Yes,
you could see yourself wearing that doing that, Yes, of course.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
And I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
If you put the finest black woman on planet earths
in that same ad, they will probably sell fewer genes
to their target audience. Now, they might sell more to
an audience they get branch out, didn't it, which is
young black women. But it's not the audience they're going after.
It's not the audience they have, so they're sticking to
(16:19):
their lane. We want to be mad at them for
not being more inclusive. Fine, and you all forgive me.
Speaking of advertisement, I don't know if we're here, but
there's a plane with a banner flying over us right now.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Where what does I say, ro It's directly over us
and in the sun, so I can't read the banner,
but it is an advertisement. Unfortunately, it's just not positioned
in a way I can tell you what they're actually advertising.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
But given where we are right now, it's probably wasn't
a targeted ad at black men my age.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Pretty sure it's targeted to middle aged white people.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Okay, Yeah, we went to a side, there were perfect
timing when it comes to ads.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
They so they targeted.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
At what point can we and we just not there yet?
At what point can white folks advertise the white folks
and to not be racist?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Well, I hadn't thought about it like that.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
But there's history that has to be considered when we
do that, because we have been left out and left
out and left out. So when something feels like this
also isn't for you people of color, who we have
continued to over time keep out of our areas, our restaurants,
our countertops, our bathrooms, our water fountains. I mean, that's
(17:31):
some of that history, Harken's. So it is different when
an ad like this. It's okay for us to acknowledge
why this could set people off, but it's also okay
to bring the temperature down and have a more adult
conversation about it.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That's all.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Yeah, No, And I think that's a really really interesting
perspective that I had not considered. And I hear you,
but how much more damage do you think it did
in terms of divisiveness that the White House waited, that
the Vice President specifically weighed in. That is where things
go from being controversial to just literally drawing a line
(18:07):
in the sand red versus blue, us versus them, right
versus left. Unfortunately, I feel like that just added so
much to bringing the temperature up beyond where it should
have been.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
We'll do a whole nother woke episode later. That word
drives me absolutely. Banana sandwich, woke, woke, woke, woke. Wait,
it's just it's been taken and used as a tool
and turned against us, and it's I hate the way
that word is being used because it makes it seem
like any effort to increase diversity is now not worth
(18:39):
the effort, or it's not a genuine effort, it's not sincere,
or it's not a worthy cause.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I hate the word woke.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
It's frustrating. And when we do this other episode, which
I would be very into doing it, do you I'm
just going to pitch or put this out there, how
much do you think gen z or Zoomers, whatever they're
referred to, created this problem Because ironically, the people who
have probably suffered in terms of even I'm talking about
diversity and all a gender, race, everything, probably are the
(19:07):
generation who've experienced the least amount of oppression, and yet
they're the ones screaming the loudest, and that has always
made me scratch my head a bit.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Yeah, we don't want to go on a sideways on
a DEI and woke tangent here in a second. But
obviously DEI plays into this conversation as well. How many companies,
major company, no, the biggest companies on planet Earth really
have come out and said, we are getting away with
DEI policies that we put in place after the George
Floyd killing. We're getting rid of We're getting all right,
the whole I mean, the White House has specifically wiped
(19:40):
the whole federal government clean of anything having to do
with diversity, equity and inclusion. So don't companies now feel
like they have the right the say they have given
they have been given the go ahead.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Knock yourself out.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
We don't have to be diverse in anything that we do.
In American Eagle, by the way, by their own numbers,
their corporates leadership, eighty two percent white. Hmmm, I think
three percent black. Three percent black.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Is what it was, and zero percent in the room
where they made the decision about this.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Ad they didn't I guess they didn't include that stat but.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Hey, I was I would love to know that advertising
company whatever that pitch, when they were in that boardroom
and they were presenting this ad campaign. Was there one
person of color in that room. I would be curious.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
And I give folks, this story, like we said, has
been helped along by so many people who have been
chiming in, including the White House. Have you heard what
the White House actually said and is chiming in about
a Sydney Sweeney ad? And oh yeah, by the way,
have you heard what Sidney Sweeney has said about it?
(20:48):
If you have, let us know because we ain't heard shit.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Welcome back everyone to this Sunday edition of Amy and TJ,
where we are talking about that Sydney's Sweeney ad for
American Eagle that has gone from being controversial to just
kind of insane at this point, everyone weighing in, including
the White House, which brought it to a whole new level.
And so this is what a spokesperson for the White
(21:21):
House said, with all of this controversy, I don't even
know if they were asked about it, like why they
decided to speak on it. So this was a choice.
This was a choice to enter into the controversy and
to bring it to a whole higher level so or
a lower whichever way you want to look at it.
But they said that all this ruckus was why Trump
(21:45):
got elected in the first place, calling the criticism cancel
culture run a mock and if that wasn't enough, then
mister Vice president Jade Vance also at the end of
this week on a podcast correct decided to weigh in
on the American Eagle controversy, saying that Democrats the lesson
(22:06):
that Democrats have apparently taken from this ad is we're
going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sidney Sweeney
is beautiful. That is what Jade Vans said.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
I mean, it's a little more complicated than that, but
you know what he did. He took something and he
communicated it in a very simple and effective way. Yes,
technically what he said is right. It's from the extremes,
but he's assigning this one extreme thing to all Democrats
and when you do that, it does make them sound silly,
(22:38):
Like what are y'all whining about? The hottest girl in
Hollywood right now is wearing jeans and you all are
saying we love Nazis because we like the ad. That
is absurd. Yes, is more complicated than that, mister Vice President.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
But that is good messaging. Yeah, it's effective messaging for sure.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Republican messaging. To be honest, they do this well.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Yes, they keep it simple and they make a point
very strongly. They did that in that statement early.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
It seems silly, or liberals iceers, it seems silly, But
it's not that simple. And that this is where anytime
politics gets inserted into anything, it's going to be a
mess and you're never going to break through and have
a decent conversation.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
But that was Robes.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
There was a potential for a decent conversation. And here,
I hope somebody somewhere go, oh I didn't know that
about the world wars. Oh I didn't know that about
the history. Oh I didn't and learn something maybe.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
But it was also an opportunity for the White House
and for certain politicians to capitalize on the divisiveness because
we know, we know the culture wars make presidents, controversy creates,
you know, elected officials, because when you can make one
person look bad, or if they try to do it
(23:57):
to you make them look worse for pointing the it
really is about who can make the other side look worse.
And if you can do that effectively, you win, You
win elections, you win seats of power. And this is
how it happened. So they seize on a cultural moment
and they play it to their advantage, and that is
what happens, and we're all the ones who get played.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Essentially, what was it?
Speaker 1 (24:20):
We kept saying Trump was trying to get people to
focus on something other than the Epstein stuff. So there
was the MLK files, there was something, Oh, the changing
of the Washington commanders. Oh yes, yes, there was a
couple of big things he did. We're like, what in
the world because these are culture wars, right, one of
(24:42):
the most prominent leaders in civil rights history, and then
you throw in something racial having to do with Native Americans,
and it just worked people up, in particular a lot
in his base culture wars.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
He didn't even have to try on this one.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
This one landed in his life.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Handed this to him and surprised.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
When did we do this first episode on this? Was it?
Speaker 1 (25:04):
It was a twenty third that it first came out,
so we had to do it that day next day.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Maybe so the fact that if you would have told
me that we would have done a follow up podcast
on that controversy. I would have been shocked unless Sidney
Sweeney came out and did or said something, and she.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Hasn't as of this recording. Folks, we'll let you know.
We've been waiting and waiting and this is the right
way to go. You all keep talking, knock yourselves out.
And she has not said a word about the controversy.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Do you think this hurts her reputation? Does this hurt
her marketability in any way?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Do you know? Ken?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
I would love to talk to her manager right now
about the calls that have come since this. The next
campaign they're thinking about, or somebody else's thinking about wanting
to do something to make her She is the it
girl when it comes to meme stock at this point,
what was the other one she did with the bath soap?
Speaker 3 (25:56):
The bath so but on this one because it has
political implications now or it's become a part of that
conversation you have I'm not going to use the word journalist,
but you have people online now trying to figure out
her political affiliations, who she may have voted for, trying
to find a way to demonize her from perhaps the
Hollywood culture of being left of center or this whole
(26:20):
notion that most actors and the people who they work
for are liberals. So we even see people digging around
right now trying to make her seem like she is
a Trumper, and we have no idea what her political
affiliation is. But I saw a bunch of that online.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I sit, Dawn, I don't care.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Everybody.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Listen, it's okay if someone you know voted for Obama,
or if somebody you know voted for Trump, it doesn't
mean they're an evil person one way or another, or
even an idiot at all. We've got to get away
from that. I don't care who's sitting. If she told
me she voted, yes, if she walks out with a
(26:57):
maga hat, I got no issue with her at all
based on what she doesn't. I don't know this woman
at all, So why does that? So they digging into
finding out who she is from a political standpoint, and.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Then what.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Cat her movies? Boycott anything that she's trying to sell.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
What exactly you voted for Biden, or you voted for Trump,
or you didn't vote at all, either one of those
two options. We should boycott your movie.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
What that's America? It's terrible. Yeah, no, I mean, we
need to be able to respect where other people are
even if we don't agree or understand.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
We've got to do better than that. Oh yeah, we
gotta do better than that.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
So well, the Dosha Cat, right, you've got what your Yeah,
I wanted to actually have because you know more about
this one than I do about I didn't watch the
video that you watched.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Well, it's just Dojah Cat did a little something to
win viral where she was doing this extreme country accent,
kind of just mocking the idea of what they did
in American Eagle Lizzo all same thing, did a post
instagram in which her head, her face was essentially put
on an AI body that looked like a somebody laid
out in a gene outfit like the ad, mocking the ad,
(28:13):
but it's said at the top if Democrats had won
the election. But then she also added, my jeans were black.
She's okay, she jumped on it.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, it was funny.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Now she said, that was one of the lighter hearted
mockeries I've seen. Yeah, Okay, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Do we have to be outraged at.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Everything and offended by everyone?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Okay, it's it's okay to go I don't like that
so much. That doesn't make me feel it's okay. But
nazis Sidney Sweeney. Let's see how she voted, because that
will tell us if she's a good person or a
bad person.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
Because she joked around about having good genes because she's hot.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, she got girls got great genes.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
She does, so does Lapita Nuongo SODA's freaking people in bast.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
People use that all the time. There's another ad that's
out with Duncan Donuts. By the way, did you see
that too? With this young guy actor. I don't know
because it's not my generation, but he's some hot guy
who's in some hot show that all the young girls love.
And he talked about having his tan, being good genetics,
the tan he got while he's eating the Dunkin donuts,
(29:26):
And yes there was something. He used the word genetics,
and people were jumping on that too and tying the
two together because he happens. Yeah, he's he's a white boy.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And how long before some ad takes some company takes
advantage of this and makes an ad Duda does a
parody but uses a whole crew of black folks. They
just makes some great gene ad with black folk. Yes,
a lot of people have good genes among them, Sidney
(29:56):
Sweet among them, halle Berry among them, Brad Pitt among them,
Angelina's only among them, a whole slew of lapita nyongos.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Just yes, we all got good jeens. But when we
see somebody advertise it this way, and those are the
particular genes that we've all been told straighter hair, longer hair,
bluer eyes, lighter skin, that is where.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
It's okay to have a conversation.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
It's all right, yeah, it's fine, but god, Nazis, it
makes me want to go buy some Nazi jeans right now?
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Just why are you kidding me?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Oh my goodness, can't we just all get along?
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Oh all right, folks, Well, if you do want to
keep the conversation going, just please we just ask whoever
you might be talking to. Give everybody the benefit of
the doubt that there might be a decent person, folks.
And first, and let's have I guess, just a more
meaningful and respectful and kind conversation moving forward. But they
(31:00):
are robes, meaningful and worthwhile conversations we should know.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Yeah, we've had great conversations about this ad about so
many things, and when you can do it with respect
and trust, that's everything. That's the problem, that's what's missing
in most conversations, especially those publicly and politically. Respect and
consideration and all the things that are required to actually
have a fruitful, peaceful conversation where we all learn something.
(31:26):
So we hope you learn something, and we thank you
for listening to us on this Sunday. I'm Amy Roback
alongside my partner TJ. Holmes. Have a great Sunday, everybody,
Hey, folks, it is a beautiful Sunday, August third. An
American Eagle has finally responded after setting everybody off with
that controversial Sydney sweeneyad. We're talking everybody from liberals, conservatives,
black folks, white folks, Democrats, Republicans, Jade Vans, the White House, Lizzo,
(00:25):
Doja Cat. They got everybody worked up about it, Robes,
and they have finally not responded. And you know what
they said, folks, not a whole lot and welcome to
this episode.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Of Amy and TJ. Robes. Are you surprised?
Speaker 1 (00:38):
I kind of want to give our reaction to the reaction.
We did the story initially and some people were worked up,
but this thing's been going on a full week now.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well, I would just say that if the goal of
advertising is to have people talking about you, then American
Eagle has won because everyone is talking about them, and everyone,
it seems, has weighed in on whether or not they
think their ad was appropriate or not. But I think
my reaction was that I get what people are saying.
(01:06):
I think people read far too into it. There are
a lot of folks who believe this was intentional, that
they're trying to get Trump supporters to buy American Eagle genes.
I don't know about all of that, but I can
see how it was a mistake that they didn't anticipate.
I don't know that it was a deliberate It doesn't
feel like to me. I don't know how you feel.
It doesn't seem like this was some deliberate attempt to
(01:28):
stir the pot. But maybe I'm naive.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
But so what even if it was, are we mad?
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Are we mad at American Eagle for doing what companies do,
which is to get as much attention as you can
and to make as much money as you can.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Are we upset with their methods? We're upset with their methods.
Some would argue because they intentionally used a racist dog whistle,
essentially by making an announcement that these products are for
you because you are preme because you have these particular genes,
ge and es. If they did it that way, I
(02:07):
guess you should take issues.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, that would be offensive if it was absolutely a
deliberate orchestrated advertisement to basically say that Sydney Sweeney's genes
as in G E. N E s, which are blonde, white,
blue eyed, big boobed girl, if that is what we
the gold standard that we all need to be working towards. Yes,
(02:31):
that's offensive one hundred percent, But could it just be
that they were saying she was hot as hell and
so she has good genes.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
We can leave it at that, and I think there
there there's got to be some room left for that
conversation in the middle, because I guess most people fall
into a few categories.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
You're either.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
You're four or against, but you're four or against either
as an extremist, or you're four and against just as Okay,
I didn't really have a problem with it, but I'm
willing to listen to someone who did. And if someone
who did have a problem with it says, okay, this
was my issue, but I give you the benefit of
the doubt that you weren't trying to be offensive, that's
(03:09):
probably where most of us are.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Yeah, that's where I am. I think you just snailed it.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
That's yeah, exactly, not only extremes where the debates are
happening online and people are saying some of that nasty
stuff that's not really it. But that debate has continued
to go and yes, it made it to the White House,
but Rose we Finally, I think it was July twenty
third when the article first came out. All this has
been going back and forth. The stock price went up.
Articles are everywhere. Everybody is chiming in American Eagle did
(03:36):
not until this weekend, and they didn't give us a
whole lot.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Yeah, so should we read their statement for everybody? Okay,
so in case you didn't see it, they had up
on their Instagram. Finally, a statement that says this Sydney
Sweeney has Great Genes is and always was about the jeens,
her jeans. Her story will continue to celebrate how everyone
wears their ae genes with confidence that their way great
(04:03):
genes look good on everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
And that was it. It wasn't a lot of fanfare.
It was just an a solid backdrop with just the
text over it, and that was the end of it.
They probably know the less they say the better. Just
let everybody everybody else is talking about us. We don't
need to chime in and talk, because that is an
upside for them. But I think it's gotten a little
(04:29):
It's gone a little far from just some criticism to
now it seems to have taken a heavier turn tone.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
I should say yes.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
And I think a lot of people, well at least
folks who commented, and sometimes folks who comment tend to
be on the extreme side of things. Not everyone, but
some of these comments certainly are were surprised or not surprised,
but certainly reacted to the fact that there wasn't an
apology in that statement. They wanted them to say, We're
so sorry if we offended blah blah blah. What do
(04:58):
you think about their decision? And it absolutely was a
decision to kind of acknowledge the controversy by saying, guys,
we're not just talking about people who look like Sidney Sweeney.
We're talking about everybody. But they didn't say they were sorry,
and they didn't say they made a mistake, and they
didn't say or acknowledged that they offended anyone.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
That's the part maybe I would like, and I don't
fault them for not doing so, but that's the part
I would like. I would like, when you have an
opportunity to get everybody's attention the way they have, why
can't we do.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Something positive with it.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Let's take an opportunity now and say, yes, we acknowledge
the way this was taken by some people encourage them
to do their own digging and do their own history
and do their own fact checking and right, because how
many times have we seen something in recent years, something
happens online and somebody missed the boat or didn't understand.
Then we go talk to people in our own lives
(05:53):
who are a little younger and they yeah, I didn't
know that was offensive either. Right, It's okay to take
a moment and educate people. That's okay, And I wish
maybe they'd have done a little more there, but I
don't fault them for not doing so.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
The other issue that people took with American Eagle was
while this whole controversy was going on for a full
week plus, the only social media post that they made
on Instagram was another advertisement with a black woman in
their genes. And so then the comments we, oh wow,
this is the equivalent of American Eagles saying I have
(06:25):
black friends too, and so people took offense to They
didn't say anything, but they just instead put up an
advertisement with a black woman in a pair of their
American Eagle genes.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
Hell of a coincidence, but I guess another miss that's
because the fourteen previous posts on their Instagram page were
all of Sidney Twiney advertising these gene literally fourteen we
counted before we came on here, and then this one
comes out of nowhere about I mean, she looks a
light skinned black woman and I think she had maybe
a minifro.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Or something like that.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I can't remember, but yeah, certainly a different look from
the other.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Why they was to put that up at the time, who.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
You know whatever, without any explanation, just putting that up there.
It did when someone wrote it seems like the equivalent
of a white person being accused of being racist saying
I got black friends. I mean, it actually really was
kind of spot on. That was kind of funny.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
I'm trying to give American Eagle the benefit of the doubt.
From a couple of standpoint, we robes this is a company.
It's kind of been in the dumps. They have for
a while. They've been struggling financially, they struggling with sales,
so they tried something and this is maybe even a
desperate attempt. And in the middle of all this, yes,
we talked, you saw the headlines about their stock price
(07:36):
going up when this thing hit, and you can see
it on the line.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Sure enough.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
It hit on July twenty third, and there is an
uptick over the next several days and that stock goes up.
And you know what happened after that, It dropped and
it's come back down to earth. And as we sit
here and talking, the stock is trading at less than
it was before this ad hit.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
So was it a hit and a miss?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
They got a mean stock? What they call it? Right?
Speaker 1 (08:00):
This controversial stuff to where something all of a sudden
becomes a popular stock, not because of the way the
company performs, but because of something on social media, because
it's getting buzzed. That is what appears to have happened.
But the backlash, now I thought was going to be
a quick thing, now seems to maybe becoming a stronger
push against American Eagle than I thought was going to
(08:23):
come of it.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
And it has felt like it's become a political o
potato truly, And because the White House has chimed in,
because JD. Van's chimed in, that has absolutely it feels
like if you're a Republican, you're supporting Sydney Sweeney and
American Eagle, and a guess that anyone would make a
Nazi comparison with the eugenics and all of that, and
(08:46):
then if you are on the left, you're outraged that
and convinced that this was a deliberate attack on anyone
who isn't blonde hair, blue eyed, and white targeted.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
This is the problem with targeted advertising when you're targeting
young white women is that too often everybody else was
kept out of that club. So when it feels like legally,
like in atrocious ways, we're kept out of that club.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So when it feels like you are.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Like legally bold face and you are telling everybody you
are not in our club, we don't want you in
our club. This is what makes a good club member
for us. That hits different, and we have to just
be able to say, Okay, we acknowledge how that might
be offensive to you the public, and we the public
(09:44):
have to also acknowledge and just say, hey, we understand
that's your target. Onio, that can be a balance. We
don't have to be outraged about everything. We don't have
to end up at Nazi over a damn pair of
jeans on the hottest actress.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
On the planet.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, it immediately went to Nazi.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
There's a butterfly on her butt and we're talking about nazis.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Too much, too far of a stretch.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That's what I means.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
We can never have a decent conversation about these things.
And the conversations you've had, you and I have had
behind the scenes are the types I wish we could
have in public because we actually engage and we learned something.
Because I'm talking to somebody who if I screw up,
they know I'm coming from.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
A good place and it's a place of love.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
So if you say something offensive when it has to
do with something you didn't know about black folks, it's
I'm not offended because it's coming from a place of
love and you just didn't know.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Something like this. It's the same thing.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
If we could just say, Okay, they didn't know, let
me do better, let me learn better, let me listen,
let me not immediately jump to name calling.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So from that perspective, then, so some folks who chimed
in after the statement came out from an American Eagle on
their Instagram account that the statement pissed them off even
more than the original ad did because there wasn't an
acknowledgement of any of that. It was kind of like
like blah blah, blah blah blah people. And that actually
(11:08):
angered folks even.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
More is that it just continued smart advertising and that,
let me give them a little drop. They'll talk about this,
but then they're going to get mad at us for
not doing that, so we'll stay in the news cycle.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
That might have been calculated.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
Wouldn't they have pissed off if you believe it's true,
like if they had said they were sorry, or if
they had said, this is a teachable moment for us,
or this is some opportunity for us all to learn
and come together and understand in a different way. Wouldn't
that have pissed off the right? Wouldn't that have pissed
off the anti woke campaign that's going on for so
many Trump followers, It would have angered them just as
(11:44):
much in this space after what happened. I don't think
American Eagle could have done something or said something that
would have placated both sides.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
But why are we trying to placate both sides of anything?
And why are we also trying to apologize for And
this is where I defend American Eagle. The demographic is
fifteen to twenty five year old women. I assure you
the majority of them are white. That's their audience. Who
(12:13):
does a girl fifteen to twenty five year old everyone
on the planet that's white, blonde haired, blue eye who
she look up to?
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Right now?
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Sidney Sweeney.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Okay, they nailed it in what they were going after.
Should they apologize for not being inclusive in their advertising?
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Do you have to?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I don't know the answer to that.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
So the next part of that is, do you have
a different standard of inclusivity if the people you are
excluding are all people of color? That is I think
a dynamic that's happening taking place in this role. I
mean fubu for us. By us, I mean, there are
plenty of companies out there who specifically target certain demographics,
(12:59):
but it doesn't feel necessarily if I'm excluding a white
person from my group, nobody's white people aren't beating down
the door trying to get into my black club.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
You see the difference.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Yes, yes, And that is an excellent point, and I
totally get that, But I think this took it to
a whole other level. Obviously, with the word genes, g
e ns and offspring, it just sounded so much like eugenics.
That is what just took it to a whole other
level because look, when you see advertising campaigns, yes, you
(13:32):
usually see I feel like everywhere now in every it's
so funny every advertisement I see an interracial couple every
like every commercial, now, every advertisement on TV. Take note
of it. It's actually alarming because what's the percentage of
interracial couples in this country? Very small?
Speaker 1 (13:51):
It's eighty seven percent according to the commercials.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
Right, but in all the commercials, I swear more than
half of them have interracial couples and then beautiful mixed children.
And it's hilarious to me.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Take no issue with that.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
I take no issue in showing that and things looking
to normalize. Normalizing it's a great way to put I
got no problem with seeing that to a point that
we it's no big deal anymore, and that's fine, But
when will we ever get to a point where we
as people of color see an advertisement like the one
that American Eagles put up and think, huh, no big deal,
(14:26):
they're just doing something that like, it doesn't register to
us at all.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
So instead of looking at it as an attack on
people of color, you look at it as a targeted
ad towards white people.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Okay, wouldn't that be a sign of progress as well?
We don't ever usually look at it that way. We
want to look at the ad and if the ad
is diverse, then therefore we must be doing better in society.
But what if we look at the ad and don't
fucking react to it being a white girl, a black girl,
a mixed girl, whatever.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
What do we get to that point?
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Well, that would be amazing. That might be impossible, but yes,
that could be nirvana. Nirvana, Yeah, where you don't take
You know, here's the deal. We all do it, white, black,
whatever color you are. You're looking at it through the
lens of your experience and how it affects you and
what it might be saying to you, and your ego
is charged saying, am I being attacked? Do I need
(15:22):
to defend myself? Do I need to push to have
my viewpoint included? You know, we all look at it
through our own personal lens instead of acknowledging how it
could impact other people. When we all do that individually, collectively,
we're a freaking mess.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
But isn't that that right that you want inclusive advertising?
Because you if I look on TV and see somebody
that looks like me doing something, then I'm more prone
to buy that.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Product, right, simple, Yeah, it's you're relating to it. Yes,
you could see yourself wearing that doing that, Yes, of course.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
And I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
If you put the finest black woman on planet earths
in that same ad, they will probably sell fewer genes
to their target audience. Now, they might sell more to
an audience they get branch out, didn't it, which is
young black women. But it's not the audience they're going after.
It's not the audience they have, so they're sticking to
(16:19):
their lane. We want to be mad at them for
not being more inclusive. Fine, and you all forgive me.
Speaking of advertisement, I don't know if we're here, but
there's a plane with a banner flying over us right now.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Where what does I say, ro It's directly over us
and in the sun, so I can't read the banner,
but it is an advertisement. Unfortunately, it's just not positioned
in a way I can tell you what they're actually advertising.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
But given where we are right now, it's probably wasn't
a targeted ad at black men my age.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Pretty sure it's targeted to middle aged white people.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Okay, Yeah, we went to a side, there were perfect
timing when it comes to ads.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
They so they targeted.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
At what point can we and we just not there yet?
At what point can white folks advertise the white folks
and to not be racist?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
Well, I hadn't thought about it like that.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
But there's history that has to be considered when we
do that, because we have been left out and left
out and left out. So when something feels like this
also isn't for you people of color, who we have
continued to over time keep out of our areas, our restaurants,
our countertops, our bathrooms, our water fountains. I mean, that's
(17:31):
some of that history, Harken's. So it is different when
an ad like this. It's okay for us to acknowledge
why this could set people off, but it's also okay
to bring the temperature down and have a more adult
conversation about it.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
That's all.
Speaker 3 (17:44):
Yeah, No, And I think that's a really really interesting
perspective that I had not considered. And I hear you,
but how much more damage do you think it did
in terms of divisiveness that the White House waited, that
the Vice President specifically weighed in. That is where things
go from being controversial to just literally drawing a line
(18:07):
in the sand red versus blue, us versus them, right
versus left. Unfortunately, I feel like that just added so
much to bringing the temperature up beyond where it should
have been.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
We'll do a whole nother woke episode later. That word
drives me absolutely. Banana sandwich, woke, woke, woke, woke. Wait,
it's just it's been taken and used as a tool
and turned against us, and it's I hate the way
that word is being used because it makes it seem
like any effort to increase diversity is now not worth
(18:39):
the effort, or it's not a genuine effort, it's not sincere,
or it's not a worthy cause.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
I hate the word woke.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
It's frustrating. And when we do this other episode, which
I would be very into doing it, do you I'm
just going to pitch or put this out there, how
much do you think gen z or Zoomers, whatever they're
referred to, created this problem Because ironically, the people who
have probably suffered in terms of even I'm talking about
diversity and all a gender, race, everything, probably are the
(19:07):
generation who've experienced the least amount of oppression, and yet
they're the ones screaming the loudest, and that has always
made me scratch my head a bit.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Yeah, we don't want to go on a sideways on
a DEI and woke tangent here in a second. But
obviously DEI plays into this conversation as well. How many companies,
major company, no, the biggest companies on planet Earth really
have come out and said, we are getting away with
DEI policies that we put in place after the George
Floyd killing. We're getting rid of We're getting all right,
the whole I mean, the White House has specifically wiped
(19:40):
the whole federal government clean of anything having to do
with diversity, equity and inclusion. So don't companies now feel
like they have the right the say they have given
they have been given the go ahead.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Knock yourself out.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
We don't have to be diverse in anything that we do.
In American Eagle, by the way, by their own numbers,
their corporates leadership, eighty two percent white. Hmmm, I think
three percent black. Three percent black.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
Is what it was, and zero percent in the room
where they made the decision about this.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Ad they didn't I guess they didn't include that stat but.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Hey, I was I would love to know that advertising
company whatever that pitch, when they were in that boardroom
and they were presenting this ad campaign. Was there one
person of color in that room. I would be curious.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
And I give folks, this story, like we said, has
been helped along by so many people who have been
chiming in, including the White House. Have you heard what
the White House actually said and is chiming in about
a Sydney Sweeney ad? And oh yeah, by the way,
have you heard what Sidney Sweeney has said about it?
(20:48):
If you have, let us know because we ain't heard shit.
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Welcome back everyone to this Sunday edition of Amy and TJ,
where we are talking about that Sydney's Sweeney ad for
American Eagle that has gone from being controversial to just
kind of insane at this point, everyone weighing in, including
the White House, which brought it to a whole new level.
And so this is what a spokesperson for the White
(21:21):
House said, with all of this controversy, I don't even
know if they were asked about it, like why they
decided to speak on it. So this was a choice.
This was a choice to enter into the controversy and
to bring it to a whole higher level so or
a lower whichever way you want to look at it.
But they said that all this ruckus was why Trump
(21:45):
got elected in the first place, calling the criticism cancel
culture run a mock and if that wasn't enough, then
mister Vice president Jade Vance also at the end of
this week on a podcast correct decided to weigh in
on the American Eagle controversy, saying that Democrats the lesson
(22:06):
that Democrats have apparently taken from this ad is we're
going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sidney Sweeney
is beautiful. That is what Jade Vans said.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
I mean, it's a little more complicated than that, but
you know what he did. He took something and he
communicated it in a very simple and effective way. Yes,
technically what he said is right. It's from the extremes,
but he's assigning this one extreme thing to all Democrats
and when you do that, it does make them sound silly,
(22:38):
Like what are y'all whining about? The hottest girl in
Hollywood right now is wearing jeans and you all are
saying we love Nazis because we like the ad. That
is absurd. Yes, is more complicated than that, mister Vice President.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
But that is good messaging. Yeah, it's effective messaging for sure.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Republican messaging. To be honest, they do this well.
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Yes, they keep it simple and they make a point
very strongly. They did that in that statement early.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
It seems silly, or liberals iceers, it seems silly, But
it's not that simple. And that this is where anytime
politics gets inserted into anything, it's going to be a
mess and you're never going to break through and have
a decent conversation.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
But that was Robes.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
There was a potential for a decent conversation. And here,
I hope somebody somewhere go, oh I didn't know that
about the world wars. Oh I didn't know that about
the history. Oh I didn't and learn something maybe.
Speaker 3 (23:36):
But it was also an opportunity for the White House
and for certain politicians to capitalize on the divisiveness because
we know, we know the culture wars make presidents, controversy creates,
you know, elected officials, because when you can make one
person look bad, or if they try to do it
(23:57):
to you make them look worse for pointing the it
really is about who can make the other side look worse.
And if you can do that effectively, you win, You
win elections, you win seats of power. And this is
how it happened. So they seize on a cultural moment
and they play it to their advantage, and that is
what happens, and we're all the ones who get played.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Essentially, what was it?
Speaker 1 (24:20):
We kept saying Trump was trying to get people to
focus on something other than the Epstein stuff. So there
was the MLK files, there was something, Oh, the changing
of the Washington commanders. Oh yes, yes, there was a
couple of big things he did. We're like, what in
the world because these are culture wars, right, one of
(24:42):
the most prominent leaders in civil rights history, and then
you throw in something racial having to do with Native Americans,
and it just worked people up, in particular a lot
in his base culture wars.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
He didn't even have to try on this one.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
This one landed in his life.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Handed this to him and surprised.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
When did we do this first episode on this? Was it?
Speaker 1 (25:04):
It was a twenty third that it first came out,
so we had to do it that day next day.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
Maybe so the fact that if you would have told
me that we would have done a follow up podcast
on that controversy. I would have been shocked unless Sidney
Sweeney came out and did or said something, and she.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
Hasn't as of this recording. Folks, we'll let you know.
We've been waiting and waiting and this is the right
way to go. You all keep talking, knock yourselves out.
And she has not said a word about the controversy.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Do you think this hurts her reputation? Does this hurt
her marketability in any way?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Do you know? Ken?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
I would love to talk to her manager right now
about the calls that have come since this. The next
campaign they're thinking about, or somebody else's thinking about wanting
to do something to make her She is the it
girl when it comes to meme stock at this point,
what was the other one she did with the bath soap?
Speaker 3 (25:56):
The bath so but on this one because it has
political implications now or it's become a part of that
conversation you have I'm not going to use the word journalist,
but you have people online now trying to figure out
her political affiliations, who she may have voted for, trying
to find a way to demonize her from perhaps the
Hollywood culture of being left of center or this whole
(26:20):
notion that most actors and the people who they work
for are liberals. So we even see people digging around
right now trying to make her seem like she is
a Trumper, and we have no idea what her political
affiliation is. But I saw a bunch of that online.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I sit, Dawn, I don't care.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Everybody.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Listen, it's okay if someone you know voted for Obama,
or if somebody you know voted for Trump, it doesn't
mean they're an evil person one way or another, or
even an idiot at all. We've got to get away
from that. I don't care who's sitting. If she told
me she voted, yes, if she walks out with a
(26:57):
maga hat, I got no issue with her at all
based on what she doesn't. I don't know this woman
at all, So why does that? So they digging into
finding out who she is from a political standpoint, and.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Then what.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Cat her movies? Boycott anything that she's trying to sell.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
What exactly you voted for Biden, or you voted for Trump,
or you didn't vote at all, either one of those
two options. We should boycott your movie.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
What that's America? It's terrible. Yeah, no, I mean, we
need to be able to respect where other people are
even if we don't agree or understand.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
We've got to do better than that. Oh yeah, we
gotta do better than that.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
So well, the Dosha Cat, right, you've got what your Yeah,
I wanted to actually have because you know more about
this one than I do about I didn't watch the
video that you watched.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Well, it's just Dojah Cat did a little something to
win viral where she was doing this extreme country accent,
kind of just mocking the idea of what they did
in American Eagle Lizzo all same thing, did a post
instagram in which her head, her face was essentially put
on an AI body that looked like a somebody laid
out in a gene outfit like the ad, mocking the ad,
(28:13):
but it's said at the top if Democrats had won
the election. But then she also added, my jeans were black.
She's okay, she jumped on it.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, it was funny.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Now she said, that was one of the lighter hearted
mockeries I've seen. Yeah, Okay, it's fine.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Do we have to be outraged at.
Speaker 3 (28:31):
Everything and offended by everyone?
Speaker 1 (28:35):
Okay, it's it's okay to go I don't like that
so much. That doesn't make me feel it's okay. But
nazis Sidney Sweeney. Let's see how she voted, because that
will tell us if she's a good person or a
bad person.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
Because she joked around about having good genes because she's hot.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Yeah, she got girls got great genes.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
She does, so does Lapita Nuongo SODA's freaking people in bast.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
People use that all the time. There's another ad that's
out with Duncan Donuts. By the way, did you see
that too? With this young guy actor. I don't know
because it's not my generation, but he's some hot guy
who's in some hot show that all the young girls love.
And he talked about having his tan, being good genetics,
the tan he got while he's eating the Dunkin donuts,
(29:26):
And yes there was something. He used the word genetics,
and people were jumping on that too and tying the
two together because he happens. Yeah, he's he's a white boy.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (29:35):
And how long before some ad takes some company takes
advantage of this and makes an ad Duda does a
parody but uses a whole crew of black folks. They
just makes some great gene ad with black folk. Yes,
a lot of people have good genes among them, Sidney
(29:56):
Sweet among them, halle Berry among them, Brad Pitt among them,
Angelina's only among them, a whole slew of lapita nyongos.
Speaker 2 (30:12):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
Just yes, we all got good jeens. But when we
see somebody advertise it this way, and those are the
particular genes that we've all been told straighter hair, longer hair,
bluer eyes, lighter skin, that is where.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
It's okay to have a conversation.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
It's all right, yeah, it's fine, but god, Nazis, it
makes me want to go buy some Nazi jeans right now?
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Just why are you kidding me?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Oh my goodness, can't we just all get along?
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Oh all right, folks, Well, if you do want to
keep the conversation going, just please we just ask whoever
you might be talking to. Give everybody the benefit of
the doubt that there might be a decent person, folks.
And first, and let's have I guess, just a more
meaningful and respectful and kind conversation moving forward. But they
(31:00):
are robes, meaningful and worthwhile conversations we should know.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
Yeah, we've had great conversations about this ad about so
many things, and when you can do it with respect
and trust, that's everything. That's the problem, that's what's missing
in most conversations, especially those publicly and politically. Respect and
consideration and all the things that are required to actually
have a fruitful, peaceful conversation where we all learn something.
(31:26):
So we hope you learn something, and we thank you
for listening to us on this Sunday. I'm Amy Roback
alongside my partner TJ. Holmes. Have a great Sunday, everybody,
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