Sydney Sweeney sees the criticism.
She knows what people have been saying.
How celebrities respond to marketing backlash can define their public image for years to come.
In Sweeney’s case, she’s noticed that there seems to be a double standard from her critics. Is she right?
Sydney Sweeney is giving her first interview since her latest controversy
This week, The Wall Street Journal‘s interview with Sydney Sweeney delved into a marketing controversy.
No, not the “good jeans” pun that certain political influencers have tried to use as a distraction from the Epstein scandal.
Instead, there was another product that had much more to do with the actress herself.
Late this spring, Sweeney partnered with the bath products company, Dr. Squatch, to offer a limited-edition soap.
The soap, aimed at men, advertised that it was infused with her “bathwater.”
This capitalized upon an existing trend that began with enterprising Twitch streamers and sex workers before making its way to celebrity products.
Many people are simply incapable of being normal about Sweeney.
As you can imagine, Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss sold out within seconds back in early June.
‘It was mainly the girls making comments’
In her WSJ interview, Sydney Sweeney addressed the notable backlash that she received.
Because yes, she is aware of it.
“It’s important to have a finger on the pulse of what people are saying,” she reasoned.
Sweeney explained that this is “because everything is a conversation with the audience.”
As for her detractors, Sydney could not help but observe that “it was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting.”
She pointed out: “They all loved the idea of Jacob Elordi’s bathwater.”
While she may be generalizing about her critics a little, Sweeney’s not entirely wrong.
Often, and as other actresses have pointed out, women receive more backlash for behavior identical to men.
Is this how she’ll respond to the American Eagle murmurs?
To be fair, the Jacob Elordi bathwater candle was a specific reference to a memorable scene from Saltburn. Not that it matters! It doesn’t. Mostly.
We also have to point out that social media backlash, just like social media praise, is likely to be very gendered on many topics.
Because society socializes people differently based largely upon the genders assigned to them at birth.
It’s probably very true that Sydney Sweeney gets more criticism from women.
We would also suspect that praise for her acting that does not mention her anatomy is more likely to come from women. That is a double-edged sword.
If she’s keeping a finger on the pulse, she likely knows how people are reacting to the American Eagle controversy. How will she respond when the time comes? It’s looking like she won’t at all.