A feud appears to be simmering between The White Lotus stars Aimee Lou Wood and Sydney Sweeney after eagle-eyed fans spotted the British actress reacting to the controversy surrounding Ms Sweeney’s American Eagle jeans campaign.
The US denim label's autumn rollout, which featured the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans”, played on the words “jeans” and “genes”, sparking accusations of racist undertones.
Some online users even compared the ad to Nazi propaganda, claiming the clips implied the actress's “genes” were superior, prompting calls to boycott the brand.
Since then, Ms Sweeney, 28, has been widely criticised for brushing off the backlash.
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Sydney Sweeney caused outrage online after starring in the American Eagle advert
| AMERICAN EAGLEEarlier this week, the US actress defended the ad in an interview for the first time, saying: “I did a jeans ad. The reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day.”
In response to the GQ interview, Nigerian-born British photographer Misan Harriman accused the campaign of being celebrated by “unrepentant racists who believe in eugenics”.
The photographer re-posted an Instagram clip of the ad, which appears to have caught the eye of Ms Wood, writing: “Presuming that you are not a white supremacist, at least say how horrified you were by how this campaign was amplified and celebrated by unrepentant racists who believe in eugenics.“At least recognise the harm your jeans campaign has caused black folk, the undertone of the campaign is that your genetics are superior to others, the play on words is clear as day and racists LOVED it!"
Despite both starring in The White Lotus, Aimee Lou Wood and Sydney Sweeney have never shared screen time together
| SKY TV PRESS OFFICE | HBOMr Harriman continued: "So, presuming you didn’t know when you shot it, you certainly do now, and it matters...This ain't it!”
The photographer’s comments section quickly filled up with both critics and supporters of Ms Sweeney.
Most notable was a response from the star's fellow White Lotus actress, Ms Wood, 29, who commented a green sickened emoji icon.
The now-deleted emoji racked up almost 3,000 likes within hours, according to The Sun.
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After hearing about Ms Wood’s swipe at her White Lotus co-star, many users found Mr Harriman’s post and complained that the emoji had already been deleted.
“Came here to like Aimee Lou Wood’s comment,” one commenter exclaimed, while another asked: “Can someone link me to Amy Lou’s comment so I can like it?”
Broadcaster and DJ Ashley James also waded into the debate, commenting: “I hate all of this.”
Others referenced Ms Sweeney’s supposed political leaning, with one user penning: “She’s MAGA, so this isn’t at all surprising.”
However, some jumped to Ms Sweeney's defence in the comments section."Yall still crying over this? Lmao", one user commented, while another penned: "It amazes me just how insecure black/brown folk are about White people.
To the point where a White person making a play on words about having great genetics 'causes them harm' lmao." (sic)
Despite both starring in The White Lotus, the pair have never actually shared screen time together.
Ms Sweeney appeared in the hit HBO series’ debut season, which centred on wealthy holidaymakers causing chaos at a luxury Hawaiian resort, while Ms Wood is part of the cast in season three, set in Thailand.
Aimee Lou Wood took a swipe at Sydney Sweeney on social media
|PA
The award-winning satire has become known for its social commentary and explosive interpersonal drama, and now, some fans say the off-screen tension appears to be matching the on-screen chaos.