In Hollywood, the red carpet is often a minefield of hidden agendas, and Sydney Sweeney has just found herself in the middle of a political firestorm.
This week, the Euphoria star took over the internet and Cosmopolitan‘s pages to promote SYRN, her much-anticipated lingerie line backed by Jeff Bezos. While Sweeney posed in a series of showstopping pieces, her words seemed to carry more weight than her famous curves.
The MAGA Barbie Label
Sweeney decided to address the persistent reports that she is a “MAGA Barbie” favored by President Donald Trump and millions of Republicans on social media. These rumors intensified after her controversial American Eagle ad, in which critics accused her of promoting a specific “blonde hair and blue-eyed” beauty standard.
In the fashion publication, she vowed that she is not a political person, saying: “I’ve never been here to talk about politics. I’ve always been here to make art, so this is just not a conversation I want to be at the forefront of. And I think because of that, people want to take it even further and use me as their own pawn. But it’s somebody else assigning something to me, and I can’t control that.”
No Winning In The Narrative
The Housemaid actress was asked why she has refused to explicitly correct the narrative that she is a conservative who secretly backs the President.
She shared a weary perspective on the public’s perception: “I haven’t figured it out. I’m not a hateful person. If I say, ‘That’s not true,’ they’ll come at me like, ‘You’re just saying that to look better.’ There’s no winning. There’s never any winning. I just have to continue being who I am, because I know who I am. I can’t make everyone love me. I know what I stand for.”
An Artist First
The 28-year-old went on to explain that she has never viewed herself as a political figure, but rather as a storyteller.
She said: “I’m in the arts. I’m not here to speak on politics. That’s not an area I’ve ever even imagined getting into. It’s not why I became who I am. I became an actor because I like to tell stories, but I don’t believe in hate in any form. I believe we should all love each other and have respect and understanding for one another.”
A Call For Unity
Despite her attempts to remain neutral, many wonder whether she has ever voted or holds any political views. Addressing the “divisiveness” of recent years, Sweeney concluded: “I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness. In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press, but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it. So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us.”
The Complicated Art Of The Non-Answer
Sydney Sweeney has learned the hard way that sometimes, giving answers only leads to more headache-worthy questions. What makes this situation so “headache-worthy” for Sydney Sweeney is the impossible standard of modern celebrity.
By stating she “knows what she stands for” without naming specific policies or candidates, she has left a vacuum that both sides of the political aisle are eager to fill. While she wants to focus on her SYRN line, the public is fixated on the “divisiveness” she mentioned in her final remarks.
