Beyoncé is getting bashed by conservative pundit Megyn Kelly, who called her “fake” and “enhanced” in comparison to Sydney Sweeney.
On Tuesday (August 5), Kelly publicly criticized Beyoncé’s appearance in the new Levi’s jeans ad, calling the artist “artificial” and “fake.”
“This is the opposite of the Sydney Sweeney ad,” she posted on X ( Twitter). “Quite clearly there is nothing natural about Beyoncé.”
Kelly continued, stating:
“Everything—from her image, to her fame, to her success, to her look…is bought and paid for. Screams artificial, fake, enhanced, trying too hard.”
The controversy erupted after American Eagle released a jeans advertisement featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, which played on the pun between “jeans” and “genes.”
Sweeney, a blonde and blue-eyed actress, stars in the campaign with lines like:
“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color. My jeans are blue.”
Critics argued that the ad, featuring a white actress referencing “great genes,” alluded to problematic eugenics rhetoric and Western beauty standards. Some accused the campaign of echoing supremacist or eugenicist dog whistles, particularly given US historical associations with these ideas.
Critics said the whole “great genes” thing, paired with Sweeney’s white, blonde, blue-eyed look, felt like a nod to white superiority. Some even called it “Nazi propaganda.”
The controversy became a political flashpoint, drawing comments from figures such as Donald Trump, who defended Sweeney and praised the ad as “the HOTTEST ad out there. Go get ’em Sydney!”
Nonetheless, American Eagle stood by the campaign.”
“The advertisement is and always has been about the jeans,” the brand stated. “Her jeans. Her narrative. We will continue to honor the unique ways everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence. Great jeans flatter everyone.”