“This ain’t the feminist gotcha you think it is.”

Back in May, Sydney Sweeney shocked followers by saying a controversial new product: cleaning soap infused together with her bathwater. The Euphoria star collaborated with males’s grooming model Dr. Squatch to launch “Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss.” In a press launch, she pitched it as “every guy’s fantasy,” noting that she needed to make followers rethink “conventional personal care products.”

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At the time, the announcement was met with widespread criticism. Many accused the actress of cashing in on misogyny by actually turning herself into the product. Social media rapidly lit up with commentary, with one tweet calling the whole idea “so dystopian.”

The American Eagle “great jeans” advert controversy that adopted

Initially, Sweeney disregarded the outrage. She even admitted that she pitched the thought herself. Later, when requested concerning the controversy surrounding the cleaning soap at an Apple TV+ premiere, she joked that she thought it was “fun to see everyone else talk about it.”

But the discourse by no means actually died down. Public notion worsened after her American Eagle denims marketing campaign drew recent criticism. That advert highlighted her blonde hair and blue eyes underneath the tagline “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” enjoying off the phrase “genes,” sparking accusations of eugenics and glorifying whiteness. The model doubled down regardless of outrage, and even the White House stepped in to defend her after The Guardian reported that she registered as a Republican in 2024.

Why Sweeney’s Jacob Elordi comparability doesn’t work

Sweeney revisited her bathwater cleaning soap, aiming the blame for the backlash in the direction of ladies, in a brand new interview with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

“It was mainly the girls making comments about it, which I thought was really interesting,” she mentioned. She then in contrast the response to the response round Jacob Elordi’s notorious Saltburn bathwater scene, claiming ladies embraced that joke way more.

Nevertheless, her comparability rapidly fell aside. The so-called Elordi bathwater merchandise have been novelty objects created with out his involvement and likewise had a destructive response from followers. Meanwhile, Sweeney actively promoted and profited from her cleaning soap. Fans identified the main distinction, stressing that Elordi by no means marketed his personal physique in the identical approach.

Sweeney’s choice in charge ladies was immediately referred to as out on-line. Folks posted their ideas on X, with one person writing, “capitalising off of patriarchy by making yourself the product is so dystopian.. like i feel bad for her.”

Another individual tweeted about her comparability with co-star Eldori, saying that there isn’t any similarity between the 2. 

“Bcoz Jacob Elordi was not selling his bath water in any way shape or form. It was a part of movie, people had fun with it, fans made bathwater candles, but he didn’t go out endorsing it, and making money off of being disgusting. This ain’t the feminist gotcha you think it is,” they wrote.

“yess girl throw women under the bus that’ll really help you beat those allegations,” one critic mentioned sarcastically. 

Others accused her of centering her model round male approval, significantly amongst conservative followers.

@meowkiiiz identified, “trying to play the misogyny card while implying all her critics are horny women who only hate her cuz they’re jealous of all the attention she gets from men is definitely…a choice.”

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